


Of Acrimony and Affection

by anon7912



Series: Of Love and Legality [2]
Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Lawyers, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, I eroticised Juyeon's ability to do the splits and I'm not sorry?, Lee Jaehyun | Hyunjae is Whipped, M/M, One Shot, Rimming, Romance, Switching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:47:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25264846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anon7912/pseuds/anon7912
Summary: Hyunjae never planned on being anything but alone, but when Juyeon gets hired at his law firm, suddenly, his dark sky is filled with endless stars, each one brighter than the last.
Relationships: Lee Jaehyun | Hyunjae/Lee Juyeon
Series: Of Love and Legality [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1830361
Comments: 29
Kudos: 324





	Of Acrimony and Affection

**Author's Note:**

> ** DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ 'OF FEAR AND FELICITY' **
> 
> Hello! This is the long awaited sequel to Of Fear and Felicity. I suppose you could reasonably read this without having read the first part, but this will be a lot harder to keep up with if you haven't. Thank you to everyone who has been very patient with me - I hope this was worth the wait. This is sort of a sequel/Hyunjae POV of some of the events in the first one shot. I also think of it as an older sibling to the first work - it's a little more emotional and thoughtful than the fluff in the last piece. 
> 
> Also, a big thank you to my lovely lovely friend @Deedee78965 on AO3 — I couldn’t have done it without your opinions, commiseration and friendship!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

It’s rather remarkable the way a single moment can change everything about one’s life, Hyunjae muses as he lays, sprawled out, in bed. Then again, he contends, there isn’t such a thing as a lynchpin event that exists in a vacuum — hundreds and thousands of minute occurrences and decisions layered atop one another, all worked in tandem to bring about this one moment that indelibly shifted the core of his being. 

Hyunjae has never considered himself someone who particularly subscribes to the notion of fate, but when he looks down at the dark head of hair laying beside him, the soft Sunday light washing over smooth, tan skin, he supposes maybe he’s more of a fatalist than he gives himself credit for. After all, how could this moment right here, this fragment of his existence where Hyunjae reclines against crisp sheets with Juyeon only a hairsbreadth away from his fingertips be anything short of a decree issued by the stars themselves?

_(And so it is writ.)_

Amidst his pedantic contemplation about fate and critical axes, Hyunjae’s attention is arrested when the man beside him shifts languidly, stretching his impossibly long limbs with the grace of a predatory cat. One feline eye cracks open drowsily at him.

“‘Time is it?” comes the familiar sleep-roughened voice.

Hyunjae shakes his head, and says in a tone that he begrudgingly admits to himself can only be described as fond, “Early. Go back to sleep.”

For a second, it seems like Juyeon will listen because his one eye falls slowly shut, and Hyunjae thinks he’ll simply turn around and fall back into a slumber, but then Juyeon opens both eyes to level Hyunjae with a drowsy gaze. 

“‘T’re you thinkin’ about?” he mumbles, shifting to face Hyunjae fully. Hyunjae shrugs a little before responding, “Just lofty ideas about keystone moments and destiny.” Juyeon snorts sleepily beside him, throwing an arm over Hyunjae’s body to drag his slighter frame back down into the pile of sheets and blankets.

“Come back to bed old man,” he teases, and Hyunjae would snark back in displeasure except it’s still sort of hard to think, even after two months of sleeping together, when Juyeon drags him close by the torso and folds his body around Hyunjae’s. A soft kiss is pressed into his shoulder, and then Juyeon’s breathing evens out beside him, the tiniest wisps of air ghosting along Hyunjae’s skin every couple of seconds. 

Even so, he himself finds it hard to fall back asleep, and settles instead for trailing light fingertips along the blue veins that traverse the expanse of Juyeon’s arm. His mind drifts quietly back to the single moment that changed his life irrevocably five months ago, and behind closed eyelids, it’s almost as if he’s reliving the days that have passed since then.   
  


~~  
  


It’s an ordinary, if not annoying day for the young law firm partner. He’s running late for a client meeting, and his driver hasn’t been able to counteract Hyunjae’s own tardiness by zipping through the Seoul traffic as he normally does. When he finally strides into his office, Hyunjae belatedly recalls that the new associate is starting that day, that he himself had been excited by the young man’s credentials and glowing recommendations, but all of that flies out of his brain the moment his eyes land on the ornate clock in his office. 

“Shit,” he hisses, making a mad dash for the extra suit he always keeps hanging at work. It’s not as if this is the first time something like this had happened, so Hyunjae had learned from experience to always have backups of everything. He tugs on the trousers swiftly, and is in the process of buttoning his shirt when Sangyeon’s voice floats through the door. He probably wants to discuss last minute details before the client meeting, Hyunjae thinks to himself, calling back a terse, “Enter!”

His brain hardly registers at first that more than one body has piled into the room, but when it does, he squawks inelegantly at the intrusion. It’s only when his mind has settled that he processes exactly who he’s looking at, because there’s no question that he’s never met the stranger looking back at him with a glazed, shell-shocked expression — Hyunjae would never forget a face like that, not when it looks like it belongs in the Sistine Chapel beside the rest of Michelangelo’s creations. He barely hears the new attorney introduce himself and the eager compliment he bestows upon Hyunjae because he only has the brain capacity to stare at how the young man’s broad shoulders stretch the suit sinfully as he bows, and the way his dark, slanted eyes look positively ethereal under the glow of the office light. 

Still, because he’s an actual and legitimate asshole, he deflects the compliment gruffly and dismissively before he can prevent his irritation at Sangyeon from seeping into the way he addresses the new associate ( _Lee Juyeon, graduated top of his class, clerked in the Supreme Court and apparently looks like a resurrected Adonis in an Armani suit,_ his brain helpfully supplies). After they excuse themselves, he doesn’t have much more time to consider the fact that his newest subordinate is appallingly good-looking because he is obviously still running late, so Hyunjae strides off with single-minded focus on trying to secure a new client for the firm.

It’s only later, when he’s seen the idol’s agent out and he’s writing up a summary of the meeting for the junior associates, that he is forcibly reminded of his terrible first impression; as his fingers fly over his keyboard in an attempt to get the email finished before lunch, his phone vibrates in his jacket pocket.

_Heo Hyunjoon:_

Hyung  
Did you see the new associate  
Because yum

Hyunjae groans softly to himself, in part because of the memory of the way Juyeon’s white teeth flashed when he beamed like an eager puppy in his office, and in part because Hyunjoon _really_ shouldn’t be texting Hyunjae’s company mobile about private matters. Irately, he pulls his personal phone out and shoots a message to his executive assistant who is out getting Hyunjae’s bento box lunch for him per his routine.

 _Hyunjae:  
_ Hyunjoon, how many times do I have to remind you?  
No personal texts on my company phone.

But also yes.

_Hyunjoon (Brat):_

Oops sorry hyung!  
I could probably grate cheese on that jaw though  
Hard cheese too  
Like parm  
  
He could accidentally cut my thighs up with that   
jaw and I’d say thank you

Hyunjae stares at his phone disbelievingly for a second, gaping at the blatant salaciousness of the text.

 _Lee Hyunjae_ :

Jesus Christ Hyunjoon.  
This feels like an HR violation.

Regardless, he’d better keep up. I have that  
stupid lawsuit case to deal with so we’ll see   
if he actually learned anything at law school.

He’s probably being harsh, but he hardly thinks it’s reasonable to go soft on a new associate simply because he looks like every wet dream Hyunjae has had manifested into one perfect specimen of a human being. With that, Hyunjae carefully compartmentalises his attraction into a dark, dusty crevice of his brain _like the professional he is_ and redirects his attention back to the god forsaken summary he’s writing.

Unfortunately, it seems like fate has a distinctly fucked up sense of humour, because at every turn for the following two months, it seems to relish in reminding Hyunjae of just how perfect Lee Juyeon is. 

It’s innocuous at first, little hints here and there of the young man’s perfection. The first time Hyunjae notices it is only a few days after their unfortunate introduction, when he gets an email from Juyeon. He had sent the young attorney a brief to proof read earlier that morning, with (very kindly, in his opinion) low expectations that Juyeon would be able to find any mistakes; after all, he himself had written and proof read it already, and ‘error’ is not a word he oft uses when describing his own work. It’s an exercise he’s done with all of the new attorneys at their firm — a way of easing them into the real world of Big Law work without actually risking any stakes for the client. 

As such, he’s rather surprised when Juyeon sends him an email back, the brief spotted not insubstantially with comments and edits. In fact, some of the mistakes Juyeon had noted are actually big mistakes, and Hyunjae battles briefly with white-hot annoyance at himself and reluctant admiration for the young lawyer. He doesn’t respond to the email, just fixes the document, but later, when he’s grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen, he runs into Juyeon who is there for apparently the same thing. Hyunjae nods his head politely at the other, noting with mild confusion the nervous edge of Juyeon’s returning nod. Just when the younger is about to slip away, Hyunjae calls out to him.

“Juyeon-ssi.” Dark feline eyes widen briefly in surprise _(so pretty under the garish office bulbs)_. “Good job on the proof-reading. You caught some important mistakes.” 

Anyone else would probably scoff at Hyunjae’s veiled acknowledgement of his own shortcomings, call it arrogance or obstinance, but there’s none of that in the way Juyeon’s face lights up in the brightest of smiles. He’s guileless and grinning, and for a moment, Hyunjae forgets to breathe when he spots the delightful little crinkles that form beneath the young man’s eyes — tiny, gorgeous seams under brilliant stars. 

“Thank you Hyunjae-ssi,” Juyeon responds softly, biting his lip for a fraction of a second before he bows quickly and disappears around the corner. 

_(It would be embarrassing to divulge precisely how long Hyunjae stands there contemplating the biology behind breathlessness, the precise anatomical reason for this sensation that leaves his lungs empty of air but full of something else indescribable.)_

And this trend of Juyeon catching Hyunjae off guard, of the young man arresting his breath and mind, doesn’t cease with time. In spite of himself, again and again Hyunjae finds himself impressed by the new attorney’s intelligence, drive and tenacity. It’s not that Hyunjae finds the other lawyers at the firm incompetent by any means - they’re all excellent in their own right - but something about the combination of brilliance and humility in Juyeon continues to puzzle Hyunjae to no end.

Because that’s the crux of the matter — Juyeon, with his immaculate credentials and consistently stellar work product, should be brash and confident like most of them are at Lee, Kim & Lee LLP. After all, one doesn’t become a top entertainment lawyer in Seoul without some degree of self-assurance — clients are only as confident in you as you are in yourself. And yet, Juyeon, who looks like an idol and writes like he’s gifted, is soft around the edges in a way that Hyunjae hasn’t seen in a long time. He’s gentle, mellow, almost unsure of himself, reacting to every compliment with unfiltered wonder and gratitude, and something about the contrast between the young man’s undeniably masculine appearance and delightfully honey-sweet personality makes something raw flare up deep in Hyunjae’s chest. 

He even apologised once for not getting something done quickly enough, even though Hyunjae knew he’d never worked with that particular database — something he, nor any of the other attorneys at the firm, would never have done. Hyunjae can still feel the low thud of his heartbeat when he had impetuously caged Juyeon in between his arms and the young attorney’s desk under the guise of showing him how to set the appropriate filters on a database search.

For a terrifying instant, Hyunjae thought he’d overstepped it, made Juyeon feel uncomfortable - and he’d _never_ want to do that - but when he saw the young man’s suddenly flushed face and blown out pupils, something inexplicable inside Hyunjae just _knows_. _(It makes his chest sing.)_ What’s worse, however, after Hyunjae invites Juyeon to call him hyungnim, is his inability to control the stuttering breath he releases upon hearing Juyeon’s dulcet tone form around the word. It makes a small ribbon of desire curl around his gut, and Hyunjae has to forcibly remind himself that this is a workplace, and he can’t just go around lusting after his subordinates. 

This desire later turns into unspeakable fondness - _is that what it is?_ \- when he sees the apology email from Juyeon. The young man is entirely lacking in ego, constantly eager to learn, and Hyunjae instinctively knows that he needs to remind Juyeon not to read the help-guides he sends that night because Juyeon would unless told otherwise. Hyunjae sees some of his own incessant search for perfection inside Juyeon, but where his is driven by hubris, Juyeon is seemingly driven by an inherent need to please and prove himself. 

Perhaps this is why he’s so much more protective of the young attorney than he was with Kevin and Changmin, he reasons to himself a month into Juyeon’s employment. He likes those two, don’t get him wrong, but even under their more genteel appearances, they’re hardened and sure of themselves. They accept that mistakes are simply a fact of life, and criticism is more of a disappointment than a crushing blow. Juyeon, on the other hand, clearly overworks himself to mitigate even the smallest mistake — a quality that Hyunjae finds both admirable and worrying. Errors are unfortunately inevitable, and something small niggles in his brain with concern every time he sees the light on in Juyeon’s office after everyone has left for the night.

All of these thoughts he keeps under a strait jacket in a dark chasm of his brain, however, unwilling to voice it to anyone else, lest they think he’s playing favourites. Still, it’s ineluctable that Hyunjoon notices _something_ different in the way he treats the firm’s newest hire. At first, it’s just knowing smirks when Hyunjae’s eyes linger a little too long on Juyeon’s retreating back or when Hyunjae blinks just one too many times when Juyeon smiles at him from across a conference room, but these smirks turn into full blown ribbing after one particular slip-up.

It happens the way it does in every clichéd movie (or pornography) for that matter. Hyunjae has his office door left open for once, and Hyunjoon is leaning against his desk chatting with him about one thing or another when Juyeon wanders down the strip of hallway in front of Hyunjae’s office. He has his nose buried in a document, while one hand twirls a pen between long, elegant fingers, and Hyunjoon bites his knuckle in amusement when Hyunjae abruptly stops speaking in favour of staring at the young associate. Then, almost as if in slow motion, the pen tips out from between Juyeon’s fingers and clatters to the floor.

There’s an arrested second when Hyunjae’s breath hitches, like he knows what’s about to happen, and then Juyeon does it; he bends to the ground at the waist, leaving his perfectly pressed slacks to tighten criminally around his muscled behind and making his legs look unacceptably long.

“Fuck me,” Hyunjae breathes out, running his fingers over his bottom lip. 

The moment is over a flash, and Juyeon strides away, still reading the papers in his hands, but it’s the sound of Hyunjoon’s impish snicker that breaks Hyunjae out of his reverie.

“ _What?_ ” he snaps irritably at the pale boy reclining against his mahogany desk. Hyunjoon raises one eyebrow, almost as if to say, “You don’t know?”, and scrunches his nose - _the little shit_ \- before pushing himself off the desk.

“You’ve got it _bad_ ,” he says, slipping quickly out of the room and closing the door behind him — a smart move too, because not a second later, Hyunjae chucks a pen viciously at the closed door.

From then on, Hyunjae can always unfortunately count on the sharp dig of Hyunjoon’s elbow in his side whenever he and Juyeon are in the same room, and no amount of exasperated reprimanding seems to curb the boy’s newly found habit.

It only gets worse with time, perhaps mostly owing to one particular incident. Unthinkingly, one day - _because apparently his brain doesn’t work when it comes to Lee Juyeon_ \- Hyunjae tells Hyunjoon that Juyeon needs to pay his dues to the legal board. The annual obligation is a pain in the neck to everyone at the firm, but the partners just have Hyunjoon do it for them (a perk of success, really). It’s something Hyunjae barely thinks about now that he’s been partner for a few years, but one night, when he is leaving the workplace, the thought is thrust unceremoniously back into his consciousness.

He’s just about to walk out when he sees the customary light on in Juyeon’s office. Impulsively, Hyunjae peeks his head in to see Juyeon at his desk. The young man’s face is illuminated by the blue light of his computer desktop, and one enormous hand is clasped over his mouth and jaw as his eyes dart startlingly quickly across the screen. When he notices Hyunjae in the doorway, he jumps a little, but - _and maybe it’s wishful thinking_ \- his eyes get a little warmer, a little more luminous. 

“Hyunjae-ssi,” Juyeon says softly. “What can I do for you?’ 

This makes Hyunjae’s brows raise disbelievingly. “ _Do_ for me? I don’t- what- it’s ten o’clock at night Juyeon, you shouldn’t ask what I, nor anyone else for that matter, need you to _do_ for me this late in the day,” he lectures vehemently. His zeal seems to catch Juyeon off guard, and mild surprise overtakes his angular features. 

“Oh…uh, okay then,” he mumbles with a perplexed frown. “Then…what’s up?” 

This makes Hyunjae pause before he answers, “Nothing really. I just saw your light was on and wanted to…check in on you I guess.” He scratches the back of his head a little awkwardly, but the gentle smile that blooms across Juyeon’s face makes him forget any sensation of discomfort. 

“Thanks hyungnim,” Juyeon says, and another silence stretches between them. Frantically, Hyunjae looks for something, anything, to say to drag this conversation out a little longer, which is why he sputters out, “Did you remember to send in your annual dues?” 

Juyeon’s face crumples comically fast and he swears softly into his hands. “Damn it, no, it completely slipped my mind with the deposition coming up,” he bemoans. “I’ll have to call them tomorrow to ask for a late exception and they’re not going to want to give it to me and _ugh_.” He groans, swiping his hand across his eyes before looking back up at Hyunjae. “Thanks for the reminder hyungnim,” he says wearily, taking out his phone to set up a calendar alert for himself as a reminder.

Hyunjae just nods mutely, his insides churning with displeasure at the fatigue that emanates from every inch of Juyeon’s form. “Don’t work too late, Juyeon,” he murmurs, and the soft smile he gets in return does little to quell his ire but he takes it anyway, bowing and closing the door behind him. 

Reflexively, as he’s waiting for the lift down, he texts Hyunjoon. 

_Lee Hyunjae:_

Can you call the board of attorneys tmrw  
and get a late exception for Juyeon?

A second later, his personal phone buzzes, and Hyunjae has to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. 

_Hyunjoon (Brat):_

Doing favours for your beau, hyung?

He pockets his phone irritably, not deigning to respond to such a leading question, but just as he’s stepping into his car, his phone buzzes again with a call this time. Confusedly, he answers it, setting it to speaker as he turns on the gas in the car.

“Joon-ah? What is it?” he asks, clipping his seatbelt in. 

“Hyung, I think we should talk,” Hyunjoon’s voice comes clearly over the car’s sound system. Hyunjae waits to see if he’ll continue while he pulls out of the parking lot, but when he doesn’t, the blonde prompts, “About?”

Hyunjoon’s sigh fills the car and, oh so gently, he asks, “Do you actually have feelings for Juyeon or is this still just a funny bit that you and I do?” The question makes Hyunjae stop mentally in his tracks, and he frowns before responding.

“Feelings? I don’t-”

“Because it’s one thing if we’re just joking around about him being hot or whatever, but it’s a whole other thing if you’re actually catching feelings for your subordinate,” Hyunjoon barrels on. “And I know because you’re a crusty old man-” “Yah!” “-that it’s unlikely you have any actual friends to talk to about this, so I figured I’d do the honours.”

Hyunjae grumbles under his breath for a moment about the sheer impertinence, but then he sighs and rubs his free hand over his face. The city whizzes past him as he makes his way to his neighbourhood, and the lights feel too bright, too incisive, like he’s being held under a surgeon’s lamp instead of the skyline. 

“I don’t know…” he cedes, quietly, a little shamefully perhaps. “I don’t know how to explain how he makes me feel but…it’s not just physical attraction.” He expects Hyunjoon to chastise him for crossing the boundaries between a professional relationship and a personal relationship, but instead, he hears the relieved rasp of his assistant’s laughter. 

“Oh good!” Hyunjoon chirps, pleased. 

“Wha-”

“You’ve been alone for too long hyung,” the boy says affectionately. “Time to break out that rusty tin can you call a heart, hm?” 

“You- I’m going to wring your neck tomorrow you brat,” Hyunjae hisses, but there’s no venom in his voice. Hyunjoon’s laughter echoes loudly in the car before he hangs up, leaving Hyunjae alone with Seoul to keep him company as he ruminates over the question of his feelings.

Because, undoubtedly, he has feelings for Juyeon — feelings of admiration, of protectiveness, of lust even. But Hyunjae, who really has been alone too long, wonders how one is supposed to know when these individual feelings coagulated to become something more, something tangible worth acknowledging. 

When did the feeling of admiration of Juyeon’s intelligence, his tenacity, his perseverance - all professional qualities that Hyunjae values - become an admiration for the way his mind works, the way he simultaneously manages to consistently catch Hyunjae off guard with his flippant humour and also manages to feel comfortingly familiar? 

When did the sensation of protectiveness over Juyeon - because he graduated so young, because he’s gentler than the other associates at the firm - become a desire to shield him from the world, tucked away inside Hyunjae’s chest where they’d have to get through him before they ever came for Juyeon? 

When did the instinctive bodily reaction of lust over a man who is undeniably handsome become all-consuming, the raw edges of baser instincts burning away brightly only to leave tendrils of something softer, something closer to a tender desire to worship someone else’s very being so that they might know just how much they mean?

When did all of these disparate feelings come together in a swirling mass of confusion, of _too much, too much_ , then suddenly all settle deep in Hyunjae’s left ribcage like warm honey, coating cold, fissured bones until they felt whole again? 

As he lays in bed that night, Hyunjae contemplates, for the first time in a while, the notion that he might not have to be alone. It was never something he had thought was in the cards for him - companionship, relationships, love, even - but somewhere between their first meeting in his office and this last one in Juyeon’s, the young attorney had inexplicably opened a door, and Hyunjae realises that he can only be helpless to follow.

Still, he really has no intention of following through with any of these newfound _feelings_ because, as Hyunjoon had so aptly pointed out, he’s a crotchety old man trapped in the body of a thirty one year old. He goes about his days as usual following the conversation with Hyunjoon; he’s still just as short-tempered with the rest of his coworkers, still pushes the young associates just as hard, but now, after Juyeon does something incomprehensibly perfect for the umpteenth time, Hyunjae has someone whom he can openly rant about it to.

Take for instance, when one day, after a long night of filing the day before, Hyunjae blearily opens his desktop the next morning to find an email with the motion he was meant to write up that day already drafted up in a detailed outline. He stares blankly at the screen for a moment, hardly processing what he’s seeing, until his eyes fall upon the time stamp of the email — 3 AM. Lee Juyeon had stayed up until 3 AM, after having already worked with Hyunjae himself until midnight on a filing, to draft up a motion that Hyunjae had mentioned in passing for a case Juyeon isn’t even working on.

Hyunjae presses the call button on his office landline, raggedly spitting out, “Joon.” 

His door opens a second later, and Hyunjoon wanders in with an inquiring expression. Hyunjae says nothing, just turns his screen to face his executive assistant and points, flabbergast at the email.

“Look at this.”

“Uh-”

“ _Look_ at it. Look at the time stamp. He fucking wrote this draft for me _after_ I left the office at midnight and sent it to me at 3 AM. Which means he probably got home at 3:45, and, let’s say he’s the world’s fastest showerer, he still probably only got to bed at 4 AM,” Hyunjae intones hoarsely, waiting for Hyunjoon’s reaction. “How did we manage to hire the most perfect attorney alive?” 

His assistant nods slowly, turning the screen back around to face Hyunjae. “You probably don’t want to hear this then, but you’re not going to want to see him today,” he says placidly.

This makes Hyunjae frown. “Why, is he sick or something? I should’ve sent him home — I didn’t know he would pull something like this.” 

Hyunjoon shakes his head, placing a placating hand atop Hyunjae’s. “No, just trust me, if you see what he looks like today on top of this little gay panic moment you just had, you’ll probably implode and collapse in on yourself like a dying star.” 

Hyunjae rolls his eyes at this, muttering, “Okay, I grant you, that moment I had was pretty gay, but I’m not _that_ gone.” Fate, the ever-loving bitch, then takes it upon herself to make him eat his words then and there, because right as Hyunjoon is poking fun at Hyunjae, a soft knock sounds at his doorframe.

Hyunjae has never had a heart attack on account of his very good cardiovascular health buttressed by a healthy diet and regular exercise, but he thinks this feels pretty close to one. Juyeon is standing in his doorway with a shy smile and a stack of folders in his hands, looking _recklessly handsome_ in his black suit and navy shirt that’s buttoned ever so slightly lower than usual, his hair styled out of his face to reveal his rather perfect forehead. Hyunjae barely has the strength of mind to do much other than gape and ogle his subordinate like a teenage boy, trailing his eyes over the golden line of Juyeon’s collar bones and the tight V of his hips highlighted by the line of his suit jacket and his tailored trousers. 

“Hyungnim, is now a good time? I have the exhibits from the deposition here,” Juyeon asks, his pleasant expression fading into uncertainty as Hyunjae continues to gaze dumbly at him.

“Uh,” Hyunjae croaks out, throat impossibly dry as he tries to swallow. “Y-yeah, I have time,” he says unevenly, shooing Hyunjoon out. From behind Juyeon’s back, his assistant waggles his eyebrows suggestively, causing Hyunjae to cough rather convulsively into the crook of his elbow.

“Are you okay hyungnim?” Juyeon asks worriedly, sitting down in front of him. 

“Yep, yep, just dandy,” Hyunjae rasps, clearing his throat. “Let’s take a look at these exhibits then.” And, to his great chagrin, Hyunjae spends the next thirty minutes with Juyeon across from him, sending gentle wafts of sandalwood scent across the mahogany desk every time he shifts, and it takes an embarrassing amount of self control for Hyunjae not to throw himself across the table and ask Juyeon to ravage him.

When the young attorney finally, _finally_ , leaves, Hyunjoon waits an appropriate amount of time for Juyeon to turn the corner before busting back into Hyunjae’s office. He takes one look at Hyunjae’s bug-eyed expression and cackles, turning a small desk fan to blow on his boss’ face while Hyunjae tries to regain his tattered wits about him.

Even the other partners start to catch on after a while. He’s in Sangyeon’s office with him and Younghoon reviewing the firm’s caseload and budget for the year one day, and as they go through Hyunjae’s portfolio, a small frown creases Sangyeon’s brow. 

“There must be something wrong with the billing because it’s saying Juyeon works the most on your cases out of all the junior associates,” Sangyeon mutters, staring at the spreadsheet before him. Hyunjae tries to stop the hot flush that creeps up his neck, particularly as Younghoon muffles a small laugh beside him.

“Pretty sure that’s right, Sangyeon hyung,” Younghoon snickers, and Hyunjae resits the urge to elbow the tall pale man in the ribs when Sangyeon looks up, bewildered. 

“How can that be? He literally just joined the firm a month ago,” he argues. He turns his warm brown eyes to Hyunjae, looking for confirmation.

Hyunjae coughs awkwardly and looks away before responding quietly, “It’s true. We were working on the lawsuit and he just started taking on more casework for my other clients.” 

Sangyeon’s raised eyebrows and Younghoon’s smug expression only make the flush creep faster up Hyunjae’s neck, and he sees, out of the corner of his eye, the two older partners exchange a meaningful look before nodding.

“Alright then,” Sangyeon murmurs musingly. “It seems like you two work well together.” 

_(The two of them say much, much more after hours, when the three of them get their customary Friday night drinks. It’s frankly embarrassing the way these two full-grown adult men squeal at Hyunjae’s mortified flush, and he can’t help but shove Sangyeon when he, a married man with a newborn at home, suggests that Hyunjae ought to use the line “Baby, if you were a contract, you’d be the FINE print!” on Juyeon, while Younghoon guffaws beside him.)_

So really, maybe Hyunjae himself is the only one who’s shocked when Juyeon propositions him to go out for drinks that fateful night, right after the young man has a veritable freak out in an alcove and Hyunjae confesses that he’s been crushing on him like an actual teenager for the last two months. It certainly seems that way, at least, because when Hyunjae returns to the conference room where the rest of the attorneys are (sans Juyeon, who managed to slip away before Hyunjae could shake himself out of his shell shock), they all fix him with irritatingly knowing looks. Kevin even has the audacity to let a small giggle slip, but Changmin clips him behind the ear so Hyunjae doesn’t have to. 

Hyunjae hides the fact that he’s been living as an emotional-black-hole of a person for the last thirty years by casually mentioning a date with Juyeon the next night _after_ he makes a work request of him first _(he’s a cowardly man but what the fuck ever)_. It’s a little bit embarrassing the way he waits with bated breath for Juyeon’s response, but like the sweet angel Juyeon is, he doesn’t make Hyunjae wait long. 

_Lee Juyeon_ :

Sure, will do!  
And yes, that sounds really great :)

*Don’t think I didn’t notice how you  
artfully hid that invite under a work  
text though hyung ;) 

Hyunjae gapes at his phone for a moment, his heart suddenly thudding as hot embarrassment tinges the tips of his ears red at being called out so blatantly, while something twitches in his gut when he sees the little winking emoji behind the more casual honorific ( _shit, does he have a hyung kink? damn it)_. Trust Juyeon to always keep him on his toes, he thinks with no small amount of affection. Even so, he can’t afford to let his reputation slip, and he’s just about text back when he realises he’s been messaging the young attorney on his work phone. If Hyunjae gets his way, the texts he’s hoping they’ll exchange in the months to come will be _decidedly work inappropriate_ so he quickly pulls out his personal phone and types out a message. 

_Hyunjae_ :

The impertinence on you  
Brat  
  
Also this should go without  
saying but this is Hyunjae

A second later — 

_Juyeon:_

Upgraded to your personal phone hyung?   
I’m flattered

A brief pause, and Hyunjae stares at the little bubble of three moving dots disappear and reappear before — 

_Juyeon:_

Excited to see you ♡

It’s frankly kind of pathetic how one little emoji makes his thirty one year old heart go into cardiac arrest, and Hyunjae wonders dimly between trying to breathe regularly if he’ll have to start taking omega-3 supplements for coronary health because, clearly, it’s becoming a trend for Juyeon to make him feel like his ribs are suddenly too small for his heart. 

Belatedly, he realises he hasn’t responded, and because he’s only just re-acquainted himself with this notion of having feelings, he shies away from sending a heart emoji back. Instead, he settles for - what he hopes is - a fond-looking smiling emoji, and promptly turns his phone to silent because he really probably can’t handle any more life-threatening palpitations. 

_(He’s loathe to admit that, in spite of this, they certainly continue into the night, his chest fluttering tremulously any time he thinks of the way Juyeon looked asleep and illuminated under garish street lights the one night Hyunjae drove him home, or the sound of his husky laughter drifting through the room when Hyunjae walked past him, Kevin and Changmin joking around that one time.)_

Things don’t go much better for him, cardiovascular-wise that is, the next morning because when he wakes up, even though the birds are singing sweetly and the sun is streaming charmingly through his window, he’s suddenly confronted with the terrifying prospect of _actually having to go on a date_. For a dreadful moment, he contemplates cancelling, because wouldn’t it be less painful for something to never begin rather than combust halfway through when he has put everything on the line? 

Hyunjae is suddenly startled out of his reverie when his phone buzzes insistently on his bedside table. His chest squeezes unimaginably tight when he sees Juyeon’s name illuminated on the screen of his personal phone, and, without even meaning to, he swipes at it to answer.

“H-hello?” Hyunjae cringes at how coarse his voice sounds, betraying the fact that it’s 11 AM and he’s only just woken up like some sort of hungover frat boy in college.

“Oh crap, did I wake you up Hyunjae hyung?” Juyeon asks anxiously. In the background, Hyunjae can hear thumping footsteps and panting breaths slow down, and he ignores the question in favour of asking confusedly, “What’re you doing Juyeon?” 

Juyeon lets out a short huff of a laugh, the sound of footsteps finally ceasing. “On my morning run,” he says between puffs of air. “S’actually why I’m calling. I know we said we’d meet up for drinks later but I think I’m actually in your neighbourhood so I wanted to see if you were free right now.” 

Hyunjae bumbles around a response, dumbfounded, “You- wait what? Where are you exactly?” He looks over at the bedside clock, trying to determine precisely how long it’ll take him to get presentable; given the dishevelled appearance he sees reflected back at him in the mirror across from his bed — a long time. He groans internally when Juyeon responds with the cross section of street names he’s standing at because the young man is only a five minute walk away from his apartment building and that’s definitely not enough time for Hyunjae to get ready normally, let alone to see the man he’s been having emotional crises over for the last two months.

“You’re close, I can come down and meet you if you give me ten- no sorry, fifteen minutes?” Hyunjae asks as he scrambles to get out of bed and dressed. “What’re we doing? Is it a jeans occasion or…?”

Juyeon laughs, and the sound makes Hyunjae pause momentarily because he’s rather enamoured by the way Juyeon laughs with his whole being, but the answer to his question makes his expression change thunderously. “Put some exercise clothes on! There’s a really nice park near here, so we can finish my run together,” Juyeon responds, tone too chipper for the appalling words coming out of his mouth. 

“You’re _kidding,”_ Hyunjae grouses irritably. “Not only do you have the _audacity_ to be someone who’s a morning runner, you thought it would be a good idea to invite me to join you?” he asks incredulously. 

If he thinks he'll cow Juyeon into submission, he's proven painfully wrong. The smug fucker just laughs again, teasingly crooning, “Aw hyung, and I thought you looked so fit under all your fancy suits.” Hyunjae makes an outraged noise of protest at the _utter insolence of this brat_ when Juyeon wheedles, “C’mon it’ll be fun, hyung. We’ll even get smoothies after, my treat.” 

_Juyeon’s lucky he sounds so cute when he whines_ , Hyunjae thinks murderously as he shucks on expensive exercise joggers and a t-shirt. “Fine, but I’m getting the biggest size there is. Don’t move,” he snaps before hanging up, although the tail end of Juyeon’s chuckling still makes its way through the receiver before he hits the ‘end call’ button. 

It’s not until he’s standing in the lift and fiddling with a stray thread on his shirt when it suddenly occurs to him that Juyeon had somehow circumvented the fact that Hyunjae had been considering cancelling on their date. A small, astonished smile curls at the corners of his lips as he stares at his reflection in the lift doors, and for the first time, Hyunjae wonders if there really is such a thing as fate. He has cancelled on numerous dates in the past, either for actual reasons or out of fear, yet this time, this one time, Juyeon seems to have inadvertently wormed his way past Hyunjae’s defences and into his life. 

_(How does one know if something is chance or destiny?)_

As Hyunjae steps out into the morning sun, far earlier than he ever has on a weekend, something warm and familiar settles inside him, like a misplaced puzzle piece finally falling into place. He doesn’t have long to examine this sensation, however, because he comes upon Juyeon who’s leaning against one of the street sign posts, dark hair coated in sweat. The young man looks up from his phone when he hears footsteps approaching, and then Hyunjae’s breath does the thing it always does around Juyeon because Juyeon is smiling like there’s no one else in the world except Hyunjae. 

_(The stars smiled too, then, amidst their slumber, down at the two souls who had unwittingly, yet inevitably, found their way to one another, just as it was ordained.)_

“Hyung,” Juyeon breathes in greeting, and Hyunjae takes the small stretch of walk between them to admire the way Juyeon’s arms look under his ratty Seoul National University Basketball t-shirt. 

“Hey Juyeonie,” Hyunjae responds, the nickname slipping out unbidden, but Juyeon’s eyes get soft and adoring anyway, his smile stretching a little wider. “I can’t believe you dragged me out at this godforsaken hour to exercise,” Hyunjae sniffs, more than a little serious. 

Juyeon chuckles and runs his hand shyly down Hyunjae’s forearm and _Hyunjae’s brain fucking short circuits._ “Sorry hyung,” he says, a small blush tinging his cheeks. “I was just on my usual route but then I remembered you live in Gangnam and I- well, I kinda couldn’t wait till tonight to see you.” He grins winningly at Hyunjae who’s desperately trying to unclog the sticky sweet nectar that has replaced the blood in his veins and adds, “We don’t have to run if you don’t want to, we can just go sit somewhere.” 

The large, tan hand on Hyunjae’s wrist doesn’t leave, but Hyunjae finally manages to wrangle his body into functioning normally again, so he responds (with only the slightest croak, might he proudly add), “No no, running sounds good.” He pauses, weighing his words for a moment before saying gently, “I’m really glad you called.” 

The way Juyeon’s eyes light up could power lighthouses with the sheer splendour of their luminosity.

They set off at what Juyeon calls an “easy” pace after that, and all of Hyunjae’s plans to make the best out of morning exercise by ogling Juyeon flies out of the window because he’s too busy trying to keep his lungs from bursting to admire the young man beside him who, offensively, has barely broken a sweat. Every inhale feels like he’s snorting gasoline, but he valiantly keeps up on the principle that he is _not_ going to be bested by some twenty four year old running hot shot who he’s trying to date. 

Every once in a while, Juyeon will look over and flash him an encouraging grin, which Hyunjae _thinks_ he returns but it’s truly hard to tell when every synapse in his brain is devoted to keeping his body from collapsing like a marionette with cut strings. It feels like entire dynasties have risen and crumbled to ashes by the time Juyeon slows down at a park bench, wiping at his brow with the back of his hand, and Hyunjae doesn’t have the wits to keep up his paltry charade any longer. He throws himself unceremoniously onto the patch of well manicured grass, groaning as his body folds in on itself. 

Alarmed, Juyeon leans over him. “Hyung! Are you alright?” he asks worriedly, peering into Hyunjae’s sweat soaked face. 

“Fi- fine, never- hah- better,” Hyunjae pants with his eyes squeezed shut, desperately fighting the throbbing in his temple. A hand touches his brow lightly, and Hyunjae feels more than sees Juyeon lean in close.

“You should’ve told me we were going too fast, hyung,” he says reproachfully, gently massaging Hyunjae’s temples. “You look so fit, I just figured you exercised regularly.” At this, Hyunjae’s eyes snap open, and he glares at Juyeon irately.

“ _Excuse you,_ I exercise plenty thank you very much. When you get to my age, your body will betray you too, just you wait,” he snarks. Juyeon’s low chuckle sounds from next to his ear, and Hyunjae turns his head to watch Juyeon lay down beside him, his arms behind his head. 

“You’re acting like you’re geriatric hyung,” Juyeon teases. “And you're only, what, thirty five?” His immediate, loud laughter makes it clear that he’s joking, but Hyunjae gasps, affronted anyway. 

“You’re such a little beast,” he complains, shoving Juyeon half heartedly who simply rolls away. He’s back a second later, propping himself up on one elbow to gaze at Hyunjae. Hyunjae squirms a little under the attention but stays put as Juyeon runs his eyes in only what can be described as an adoring way up and down his red face. 

“Stop looking at me, I’m gross and sweaty,” Hyunjae grumbles embarrassedly, covering his face. A brief pause passes, then slow, tentative hands clasp around his, moving them out of the way to lace long fingers with slender, pale ones. 

“Completely absurd,” Juyeon murmurs, holding his hand, and the way he looks at Hyunjae is so reverent, so admiring that it makes him want to shy away. Instead, he settles for sitting up and tugging at Juyeon’s arm.

“Let’s go, you still owe me a smoothie.” 

_(Of course, Hyunjae himself ends up paying for both their smoothies - his strawberry banana and Juyeon’s mango passion fruit - because he’s the older of the two and what a ridiculous notion it is that he would ever let Juyeon pay for anything on the first date. Anyway, he considers the fact that Juyeon piggy-backed him all the way to the shop on account of his sore feet payment enough.)_

They’re walking aimlessly out of the shop and back to the park when Hyunjae asks haltingly, “Would you- maybe- want to come up to mine? We’re both pretty sweaty and I...” he trails off, unsure how to phrase “I don’t want you to go yet” in a less commanding, less needy way than it feels. But Juyeon seems to understand him perfectly because he doesn’t even flinch, just links smoothie-cooled hands together as they walk and chirps out a serene, “That sounds wonderful.”

As the two of them stand on Hyunjae’s doorstep, he heaves a weighted breath. No one, save for friends and family, has ever been past his front door — not his one night stands, not people he’s gone on one date with and then promptly ghosted, and definitely not the two crash-and-burn relationships he had in his mid twenties. Letting Juyeon in seems like a monumental decision, both physically and emotionally, and Hyunjae tries not to let it show on his face when he enters the security code on the handle. 

He watches apprehensively as Juyeon steps in, toeing off his shoes by the doormat, dark eyes drinking in the sight of Hyunjae’s flat. It’s tastefully decorated he knows, but because he’s been such a career bachelor, every inch of the space is filled with only things he likes and wants. As such, he wonders if it’s a little jarring for Juyeon to stare at his enormous bookshelf filled to the brim with mint collection Iron Man comic books, or if his assortment of bizarrely shaped mugs littered about the place is off-putting for the young man.

Hyunjae isn’t quite prepared for the soft wonder that leaks out of Juyeon’s voice when he murmurs quietly, “It’s beautiful,” and the compliment makes another little something fall into place in his chest, the once disparate jigsaw rapidly coming together with each nudge of Juyeon’s gentle fingertips. 

“Thanks,” Hyunjae says quietly, smiling at the sincere joy shining in Juyeon’s face. And because he thinks his nerves can’t handle another douse of the intense emotional experience that is letting Juyeon into his life, he adds quickly, “You can shower in the guest bathroom if you want, there are extra towels in there.” 

Unfortunately, that too presents its own set of conundrums. Instead of dealing with a heart that sputters and struggles to jumpstart like an old engine that has been neglected for too long, Hyunjae spends the entire shower wrestling his desire into submission. One fleeting thought of, “Hope he knows how to work the shower settings,” opens a Pandora’s box of sensual images that assault Hyunjae’s corneas and brain in equal measure. 

It takes all of Hyunjae’s willpower not to spend his entire, very cold shower wondering what Juyeon looks like only a few metres away under the spray of the luxurious shower head in his guest bathroom. He settles, instead, for freezing his actual balls off in a bid to restrain his raging libido, but it hardly seems to help. Every time he closes his eyes, he sees vivid flashes of golden skin glistening under hot water, soapy suds sliding tantalisingly over hard planes of corded muscle. It’s enough to make an ascetic weep.

After he towels himself dry and dresses in clean clothes, Hyunjae makes his way to the kitchen just so his hands have something to do. He’s making a cup of coffee for them both with his French press when he hears the water finally stop in the guest bathroom. Humming quietly to himself, he pulls out two clean mugs — one shaped like an Iron Man helmet and another simple white one with a cat dressed in the same superhero’s armour, titled “Iron Cat”. He’ll let Juyeon pick which one he likes, although he secretly prefers the helmet _(and Juyeon looks so much like a feline that it would only be poetic justice if he preferred the cat mug)_.

Just as he’s about to pour the coffee, he hears soft footsteps padding towards the kitchen.

“Hyung?” Juyeon’s voice echoes throughout the penthouse flat, and Hyunjae calls out to him so that he knows where to go. Mid-pour, Juyeon’s head pops around the doorframe, and Hyunjae errantly splashes coffee all over his counter because _Jesus fuck, why is Juyeon standing there with water droplets cascading over his chest wrapped only in a loose towel slung low on his hips?_

“Uh-” Hyunjae gawks.

“You said you’d leave clothes outside the bathroom door but I couldn’t find them…” Juyeon says sheepishly, flicking a dribble of water out of his eyes. Hyunjae swallows thickly and shakes his head to clear the painful haze that has settled over his pupils.

“Shit- yeah sorry, uh I’ll go get some now,” he mumbles, scurrying out of the kitchen with Juyeon following leisurely behind. 

“You sure you don’t mind me borrowing something? I can always go home to change and come back hyung,” Juyeon says, but Hyunjae waves him off quickly. The idea of Juyeon leaving right now feels strangely unsettling, even though he’s only just invited the young man into his house for the first time. 

_(Is knowing that something - or someone - belongs an instinctual sensation? How many minutes does one need to tally up before it’s logically possible to conclude that someone fits into the life you’ve managed to build without them?)_

After passing him a pair of old sweatpants and a t-shirt from his closet, Hyunjae hurries out of the room, because as sure as he is that watching Juyeon pull _his_ clothes over that body carved from Italian marble would be an absolutely religious experience, he doesn’t think he’s quite ready to wipe out years of spank-bank-material collection just to replace it all with that one image.

Nervously, he finishes pouring their coffee and settles down on the sofa to wait for Juyeon to emerge. Although their date hasn’t consisted of much more than going on a run so far, the domesticity of sharing their weekend rituals feels shockingly intimate for Hyunjae. He nibbles on his bottom lip as he contemplates how _easy_ everything feels with Juyeon, how baseless his worries just this morning seem now. _(For once, there’s something terribly wonderful about feeling disarmed.)_

Just then, Juyeon emerges from the hallway, freshly dried but still a little damp in an awfully cute way, his hair flopping around his forehead in wet tendrils as he collapses unceremoniously onto the sofa next to Hyunjae. Hyunjae yelps, moving the coffees away from the edge of the table so they don’t spill, but he doesn’t have the heart to glare when Juyeon’s face brightens at the sight of the hot drink. He grabs the Iron Cat mug —

_(You fit with me in every sense of the word.)_

and takes a hearty sip, and Hyunjae watches, fascinated, as he rolls the liquid in his mouth before swallowing. “Mm, this is good. Colombian beans, dark roast?” Juyeon asks, eyes crinkling over another sip.

Hyunjae’s eyebrows raise in surprise as he takes his own gulp. “Yeah, how did you know?” Juyeon doesn’t reply, just swallows slowly before saying, “French press? Hey, how did you get La Colombe coffee beans in Seoul?”

Hyunjae’s eyes bug out, then narrow suspiciously. “Are you- you’re pulling my leg. You saw the coffee in the kitchen didn’t you?” Juyeon shakes his head with a laugh, raising his hand to smooth a thumb over the small crease that has formed between Hyunjae’s eyebrows.

“No, I just have a thing about coffee,” he says, chuckling. “I went on a whole tour in Colombia a few years ago. Took a class and everything.” Hyunjae shakes his head bemusedly at the younger man, somewhat flummoxed by the continuous surprises that seem to emerge the longer he spends with him.

“C’mere, how’re your feet?” Juyeon asks, grabbing both of Hyunjae’s legs and swinging them into his lap. The blonde barely has time to steady his cup before he finds his entire lower body tucked onto Juyeon’s thighs as he runs soothing hands up and down the tops of Hyunjae’s feet and ankles. 

“They’re fine, I was just being dramatic earlier,” Hyunjae murmurs, although he doesn’t stop Juyeon from massaging them gently, a low purr escaping his chest as he leans into the attention. In spite of the coffee, something about the warmth of Juyeon’s presence and the tranquil kneading of his fingertips lulls Hyunjae into a drowsy, unguarded state. It’s this languor that prevents his usual filter from working properly, and he mumbles, “You know, for a second this morning I thought about cancelling.” 

The hand on his ankles stops abruptly. “You did? Why?” Juyeon asks, unfiltered hurt and apprehension colouring his tone. Hyunjae’s eyes snap open and he quickly leans forward.

“No, Jesus sorry, that came out wrong,” he says hurriedly, grabbing Juyeon’s hand that moves to slip off. “It wasn’t because I didn’t want to see you or anything like that. Honestly…” Hyunjae pauses, unsure how much sharing is too much. “I don’t really date much. By choice, I mean. I guess I just wasn’t sure if I was ready to get back into…this,” he waves his hand meaningfully, and Juyeon’s brow clears.

After a moment, he asks gently, “How come?” 

Hyunjae considers the question carefully before answering. “How come I don’t date? I don’t know really, a number of small reasons all added up I guess. I like my space, and I work a lot so that’s often difficult for people to get over. I’m pretty sure I have some commitment issues that come from divorced parents, but then again, doesn’t everyone? That, plus the fact that I’m mean and cutting a lot of the time, just doesn’t really make for a thriving romantic life, and I’ve always been fine with it.” 

Juyeon listens intently as he explains, but he lets out a small chuckle at the last reason. “You’re not mean hyung,” he smiles, stroking his thumb gently over Hyunjae’s pale ankle bone. Hyunjae turns an incredulous look on the young man and scoffs.

“You’re _kidding_ right?” he deadpans. “I’m an asshole around the office. I’m sure everyone warned you about my temper before you started work.” 

The tiny pause before Juyeon responds speaks volumes, but the dark-haired man leans closer, propping his head up on one elbow on the sofa’s back. “You don’t lose your temper with me. Besides, you’re kind underneath it all, and that’s all that matters,” he says, and his eyes are so impossibly fond that Hyunjae is inclined to believe him for a second. “Thanks for telling me all of that. Do you...do you still feel that way?”

Hyunjae fiddles with his bottom lip as he shakes his head slowly. “No, not really. I mean, I still feel that way about dating as a construct - why do you have to be with someone to be considered whole, y’know? - but I don’t feel that way about you,” he says, meeting Juyeon’s eyes finally. “I’m really...into this. You.” 

He wonders if he’s just shared too much, if Juyeon will have second thoughts about dating someone dark and twisty like Hyunjae (even though he’s not really, he’s more cynical than he is broken), but then he sees that Juyeon is smiling softly at him and all of his fears melt away.

“Good. ‘Cause this feels really right to me even though the fact that we work together might complicate things. I feel like I’ve found something I didn’t know I lost in the first place,” Juyeon says, and in those few words strung together with more tenderness than conjunctions, Hyunjae feels like Juyeon has articulated the tangle of confusing feelings in his heart and deftly pulled the string to loosen the knot.

Hyunjae nods, a little speechlessly, before taking another sip of his coffee. It’s tepid now, hardly pleasant, but his insides feel like he’s swallowed liquid sunshine. 

Still, he feels the need to add, “Just so you know, that whole spiel just now, it’s not a big deal or Thing with a capital T. On the spectrum of emotional damage, I’m closer to the end of ‘crotchety loner’ than I am ‘middle-aged man with baggage’.” Juyeon quirks his eyebrow amusedly at him, biting his lip as if to keep from laughing. “Just so you know,” he adds flaccidly again. 

“Alright,” Juyeon quips, still grinning. “Do you want to keep baring your soul to me or do you want to watch a movie or something?” 

Hyunjae groans and kicks Juyeon’s ribs lightly, making the younger guffaw. “You’re such a tool. Haven’t you heard that the modern ideal man is emotionally sensitive?” When Juyeon ignores him in favour of laughing, Hyunjae reaches over to the coffee table and chucks the remote at him _(even though the little shit catches it with perfect hand-eye coordination)_. “Pick your movie,” he orders waspishly.

Juyeon grins as he flicks the TV on, one free hand still tracing feather-light circles over Hyunjae’s skin. “You sure you want to watch a movie? I know we said we’d do drinks and this is way less sexy than that,” he asks. “I’m happy to do something more date-like if you’d prefer.”

Hyunjae shakes his head and offers the young man a gentle smile. “No, honestly this is perfect. I already said it earlier, but I’m really glad you called. We can always go out for drinks later if we’re still up for it.” 

Juyeon’s returning beam is blinding.

_(Unsurprisingly, they don’t actually make it out for drinks that night. Instead, they curl up and watch movie after movie until they’re starving, at which point Hyunjae orders takeout for them both. Over bites of kimchi fried rice and beef stew, they share little things, like laughter, and big things, like stories of coming out. It’s homey, simple, and frighteningly right, and by the time Juyeon leaves, dusk has settled over the city, casting his departing face in the loveliest lavender glow.)_

Returning to the office that Monday is both routine and unprecedented for Hyunjae, and he feels a prickle of anxiety on the nape of his neck as he walks into the building that morning. Nothing has operatively changed he tells himself; it’s not like he and Juyeon exchanged a steady barrage of texts the Sunday following their date _(they did)_ and it’s not like Juyeon had called him to say goodnight over the phone and asked teasingly when he’d be allowed to kiss Hyunjae, to which Hyunjae sputtered indignantly and promptly hung up, even though he texted back not ten minutes later, “Tomorrow” _(he absolutely did)._ It’s not like any of those things happened, so why does Hyunjae feel like he’s five years old again and walking into his first day of school? 

Either luckily or unluckily, Hyunjae doesn’t actually get to see Juyeon for the first half of the day. The young attorney is stuck in a conference room with Changmin and Sangyeon video calling a client, so the only moment they get together is a fleeting smile between a glass barricade that makes Hyunjae’s stomach flutter a little. Around 11, Hyunjae is sulking over a set of documents sent by opposing counsel when his door bursts open.

“How was your date?” Younghoon asks, Hyunjoon eagerly in tow, completely irreverent of the fact that Hyunjae nearly fell out of his chair from surprise. 

_“What?”_ he asks brusquely. “How the _fuck_ do you know about that?!” 

The two pale men before him blink, nonplussed. “I have you on Find My Friends hyung, and uh…sometimes your building’s security guard and I text,” Hyunjoon says contritely. Hyunjae’s mouth falls open at that. 

“You _text_ Jeon-ssi?” he half-shrieks, and Younghoon shushes him hurriedly, looking at the door as if nervous that someone will come in. 

“All irrelevant details!” Hyunjoon rushes out. “Tell us about your date!” He plops himself down on one of the seats across from Hyunjae, as does Younghoon, and the two animals place their elbows simultaneously on his desk with expectant faces.

“Did you kiss?” Younghoon sighs dreamily, sounding less like a successful partner at a prestigious law firm and more like a teenage girl dreaming about her idol. 

“Shut up! It’s none of your fucking business,” Hyunjae hisses furiously, and he recoils in rage when Hyunjoon turns to Younghoon and says didactically, “That means they didn’t.”

 _“Fuck off!”_ the blonde squawks. “Get out of my office.” He gets up quickly, as if to physically throw them out, and the two intruders jump, scurrying out mutinously as they mutter to one another. 

“Jesus he’s pissy-”

“Definitely didn’t get laid-”

The resounding clack of his notepad crashing against his closed door punctuates the end of their busy-bodying, and Hyunjae huffs in irritation. His friends are being demoted to co-workers, he decides viciously, and he’s about to return to work when his personal phone buzzes in his pocket.

He’s distinctly unprepared for the text that awaits him.

_Juyeonie:_

I heard through the grapevine that we’re  
dating but that I apparently didn’t put out  
on the first date

Hyunjae gawks at his phone screen for a full minute before his fingers regain feeling, and he types out a response quickly.

_Hyunjae:_

What the fuck??  
I’m going to kill Hyunjoon.

He immediately gets a reply back, and he briefly wonders if he should scold Juyeon for being on his phone at work.

_Juyeonie:_

Dw hyung  
I can come to your office and rectify  
the last part of that rumour. ;) 

Hyunjae drops his phone with a clatter, his hands suddenly shockingly sweaty. He’s mulling over a reply when there’s a soft knock at his door, and he hurriedly pockets his mobile before saying, “Enter.”

To his surprise, Juyeon peeks around the door with a small smile, and Hyunjae’s stomach lurches violently. ( _Surely not.)_

“You- are we actually doing this here?” he stutters out in a harsh whisper. Juyeon cocks his head confusedly for a second before his eyes widen in realisation and he bursts into laughter. 

“No!” he cries, heaving with full-bodied chuckles. “I came to drop off the brief you emailed me.” At Hyunjae’s questioning look, he adds teasingly, “You know, the one you texted me about before you asked me out on a date last Friday?” 

And Hyunjae is _not_ going to degrade himself into admitting that he actually didn’t need anything fixed in the document he sent, that he really made an error on purpose so that he’d have an excuse to text Juyeon and the document is actually perfectly fine sitting on his computer, so he just nods mutely and stretches a hand out to reach for the stack of papers Juyeon is holding.

He pretends to skim through the first few pages, his body coiled with some unnameable tension, getting tighter and tighter when he realises Juyeon isn’t leaving. His eyes flicker up questioningly to see the young attorney leaning against the chairs in front of his desk, his eyes dark and alight with amusement.

“Did you…” Hyunjae starts to say, trailing off when he sees Juyeon flash his canines at him in an almost predatory smile. “What?”

Juyeon shrugs nonchalantly, still grinning as he saunters around the desk. A quick look sideways reassures Hyunjae that his door is firmly shut, but then his attention is brought forcibly back to the dark-haired young man who is suddenly standing right in front of him.

“Came to cash in my kiss hyung,” he murmurs softly, eyes glinting obsidian, full of unspoken promises. 

“O-oh…” Hyunjae stammers before collecting himself. “Yeah?” he asks, throat dry as Juyeon nudges his knees apart so that he’s engulfed between Hyunjae’s Italian-suit-clad legs and the edge of the desk. 

“Mhm,” he hums, leaning down slowly, getting closer and closer until he pauses, their lips hovering right in front of each other. Hyunjae stares at him for a moment, time seeming to stand still, the air thick and heavy with intention, until he closes the gap.

Perhaps it would be cliché to say that kissing Juyeon feels like fireworks lighting behind his eyelids; perhaps it would be melodramatic to say that the simple act of their lips touching fills Hyunjae with shards of electric warmth that dart through his veins with wild abandon. And yet, that’s precisely how it feels, the chaotic pleasure of _so right, finally, so right after so long_ fills Hyunjae with giddy effervescence that bubbles forth completely out of his control.

“ _Shit.”_ Juyeon’s soft, cracked groan into his mouth goes straight to Hyunjae’s gut, twisting and churning until he’s mindless with the sound replaying in his brain. The young attorney seems particularly fixated on Hyunjae’s bottom lip, licking and nibbling at it with feverish devotion. In return, Hyunjae opens his mouth to let his tongue slip out and between Juyeon’s eager lips, sliding it decadently over the younger’s. He luxuriates, then, in the remarkable contrast between the silence of the office and the symphony of sound and light playing in his head as their mouths explore each other.

Hyunjae’s once idle hands develop a life of their own, travelling from the arms of his chair to grab Juyeon’s knees, caressing higher and higher until they settle on the other’s narrow hips. He works slender fingers into the belt loops of Juyeon’s trousers, pulling him closer so abruptly that the young man stumbles a little, falling forward to rest large hands on Hyunjae’s shoulders. They’re both panting heavily at this point, and Hyunjae takes a moment to catch his breath by running his lips wetly down Juyeon’s jaw and onto his neck, lapping into the golden skin. One of Juyeon’s knees comes to rest beside Hyunjae’s hip on his chair as he throws his head back to angle his neck towards Hyunjae’s searching mouth, grunting lowly into the still office air.

“Hyung I-” Juyeon suddenly cuts himself off with a splintering whine, gasping frantically when Hyunjae’s hot tongue laps into the shell of his ear before biting down. _“Fuck!”_ his large hands grip the hairs at the nape of Hyunjae’s neck punishingly hard. 

Before Hyunjae’s wandering mouth can continue its insidious journey along Juyeon’s sun-kissed skin, the two of them are interrupted by the sharp trill of the alarm on Hyunjae’s work mobile. Hyunjae swears irritably into Juyeon’s collarbones as he rests his head against the young man’s clavicle while Juyeon frenetically tries to catch his breath. 

“That was…” Hyunjae mumbles, and he feels Juyeon nod above him. 

“Yeah,” Juyeon responds breathlessly, untangling his fingers from Hyunjae’s hair to stroke through the strands gently. “You have a meeting now?” 

Hyunjae nods forlornly, smoothing Juyeon’s slightly rumpled shirt back into place. “Yeah. I’ll see you later?” he asks hopefully and Juyeon smiles, leaving a fleeting kiss on the top of Hyunjae’s hair.

“Definitely.”

Later, after he wraps up his meeting, Hyunjae checks his phone to see that Juyeon had texted him in the middle of his conference call. The quippy little message makes his lips quirk upwards into a smile, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t stroke the illuminated screen affectionately for the briefest of moments.

_Juyeonie:_

11/10 first kiss, would do it again,  
say tonight after work?

_(That night, they go for drinks and fried chicken at an outdoor beer garden. The air has just a hint of crispness from the beginning of autumn settling in, and Hyunjae takes the opportunity to tuck his hand into Juyeon’s as they sit at one of the park benches. It makes eating marginally more difficult, but it’s worth it when Juyeon laughs and swipes a bit of sauce off of the corner of Hyunjae’s mouth. It’s even more worth it, though, when Juyeon lets Hyunjae just feed him from across the table, chewing rather adorably with his cheeks full. When they finally get to kiss again that night, Juyeon tastes like cold beer and soy sauce, but Hyunjae can’t imagine anything that would taste quite as nice as those teasing kisses under the autumn stars.)  
  
_

~~  
  


They manage to squeeze in three more perfect dates before life catches up to them. After all, it’s not like they have the luxury of time to be leaving work promptly at 5:30 to stare into each other’s eyes every day, Hyunjae reflects somewhat bitterly, not when they’re both working as entertainment lawyers in the cultural capital of East Asia. 

Still, even as things get hectic at work, there’s something to be said for the little moments they share. Like the way Juyeon always surreptitiously passes by his office every morning to drop off his morning coffee and a buttery croissant because apparently, Hyunjae doesn’t eat enough _(although he actually eats plenty, but it’s sweet the way Juyeon piles his bowl full of food whenever they go out together)._ Or how Hyunjae has managed to find a small pocket of time every day at 1:35 exactly to sneak into Juyeon’s office so they can flirt playfully for precisely seven minutes, or make out furiously for five and then spend the last two minutes getting their clothes in order. 

It’s not perfect but it works because Hyunjae has decided he’s going to _make_ it work — in a truly bizarre turn of events, after having reconciled himself with the notion that he’s just not meant to be a part of a couplet, he finds himself increasingly unable to function without thinking of Juyeon every spare minute he gets to himself. It’s both exhilarating and terrifying, but like a tender green bud tentatively reaching for the sun, Hyunjae finds himself inexorably, inevitably drawn deeper and deeper into Juyeon’s orbit. 

Perhaps the best part of it all is the constant affirmations from Juyeon that the young attorney feels the same way, and maybe Hyunjae takes advantage of the fact that Juyeon simply shares his feelings without demanding anything in return. As they’re laying on Juyeon’s bed one night after hours of messy kissing and frantic hands, finally coming to a rest with their foreheads pressed against one another with tangled legs, Juyeon murmurs sleepily, “I don’t know if this sounds absurd, but sometimes it feels like- like I’ve been walking around all my life with this discordant tune in my head, and when I met you, the notes resolved themselves.” He blinks his eyes open to look at Hyunjae properly. “Does that make sense or am I crazy?”

And Hyunjae, who’s breathless all over again, can only say, “It makes sense,” as he grabs Juyeon’s hands to fold their fingers together.

_(If he were braver, he’d say, “I’ve been looking for you all my life, even when I didn’t know I was looking,” but he’s not, so instead he settles for pressing the words silently into every kiss he imprints on Juyeon’s fingertips and palms, so that he might carry them with him always, unspoken but irrevocably there.)_

One night, as they do on the rare occasion that everyone in the firm happens to have a light workload, the entire office goes out for drinks, raucously jostling Sangyeon to treat everyone to beer. He protests jovially but everyone knows it’s for show anyway, because he has never _not_ treated them when they all go out together.

All twelve of them pack into a bar, shucking off their light jackets and coats as soon as they enter the humid, sweaty space. Luckily, in spite of it being a Friday night, their usual haunt isn’t too packed, and they’re able to push a large round table next to one of the booths so that they can all sit around together. 

Hyunjae, to his great annoyance, finds himself seated across the table from Juyeon, who’s pressed so close against Younghoon that the partner has his arm thrown around the younger’s neck in an attempt to find space for his protruding limb. It’s petty, the way Hyunjae sulks over his cold beer at Juyeon leaning in close so that he can hear the handsome partner over the racket of the pub - it’s not jealousy, because how absurd would that be when Younghoon has his arm conveniently placed to touch Changmin’s forearm with his elbow - and Hyunjae wants nothing more than to shove Younghoon out of his seat so _he_ can be the one who feels Juyeon’s beer-chilled breath ghosting over his ear. 

He’s nursing his third drink with a stormy expression that not even Eric and Sunwoo’s antics can lift when he suddenly feels a small nudge on his ankle. Hyunjae dismisses it given the number of people seated at the table who are getting increasingly intoxicated, but when it touches his foot again, he turns to snap at Sunwoo to keep his dirty shoes in check. The bark dies in his throat, however, because just then, Juyeon catches his eye, a teasing sparkle glinting at him from across the table even as he continues his conversation with Younghoon. 

_Oh._

Hyunjae gulps, and attempts to assimilate himself into the conversation that Haknyeon, Eric and Sunwoo are heatedly having over the validity of juice being better than beer (a frankly ludicrous discussion in Hyunjae’s opinion). As he does so, the foot on his ankle draws sensual little circles, climbing higher and higher to caress his shin, then his calf, then his knee.

In the back of his mind, he wonders how Juyeon has such seemingly perfect control of his foot so as to make playing footsie more than just awkward kicking, but then there’s a small nudge behind his knee as Juyeon hooks his foot into the space between Hyunjae’s legs and the bar bench. Instinctively, Hyunjae sits forward so that his chest is pressed against the table and only his backside is perched on the chair, thus allowing Juyeon to stroke leisurely up his thighs. Hyunjae gulps.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” he announces, too loudly apparently because the whole table silences and stares at him with half-baked amusement. Hyunjae flushes to the tips of his ears, and part of him is mortified that his employees - _subordinates -_ are seeing him like this, but he shakes it off as he hurries towards the back of the pub. 

In the bathroom, he splashes cold water on his face, trying to calm his lurid thoughts of wanting to _pin Juyeon to the wall and force his legs open so Hyunjae can_ \- nope, not doing that now. He takes shuddering, cleansing breaths, pulling out a paper towel to dab at the moisture running off his cheeks. Just as he’s leaving the bathroom, he considers texting Juyeon to see if the young attorney wants to go somewhere just the two of them, when— 

“Hey hyung,” a husky voice hums into his ear, and every one of Hyunjae’s nerve endings prickle in recognition. 

“Juyeonie,” he breathes, and he’s hardly able to stop himself from dragging the dark head forward to press their lips together, Juyeon’s body moulding wonderfully tightly against his own. 

Between kisses, Juyeon mumbles hotly, “Looked so sexy drinking your beer hyung, wanted to kiss you so bad,” and the praise goes straight to Hyunjae’s groin, leaving his cock to rise to half mast. 

“Shit,” he swears, momentarily pausing to catch breath as his fingers twist into the fabric of Juyeon’s shirt. “S’get out of here,” he mutters hastily, leaving a couple of last kisses along the golden column of Juyeon’s neck. “You go first, I’ll meet you at mine, code is 1309,” he says hurriedly, brain registering only a moment later that he’s never told anyone his house code. The thought catches him off guard for a moment, but then Juyeon’s spit-slick lips suddenly caress his, and then he can think of nothing else except the little groans escaping the dark-haired man’s mouth.

Juyeon pulls away then, leaving a last lingering kiss to Hyunjae’s cheek before dashing off. From the secluded hallway of the bathroom, he sees Juyeon make his excuses to the rest of the office as they protest good-naturedly, and then he leaves, looking back a last time to wink at the dark corner where Hyunjae is. 

Hyunjae breathes deeply before emerging from the hallway to rejoin the group at the table. Since leaving for the bathroom five minutes earlier, things have clearly rapidly descended into chaos — Sangyeon, who had given his phone to Chanhee and Changmin to show them pictures of his newborn is now desperately trying to get it back after they discovered his shirtless gym pictures, while Younghoon and Hyunjoon are whispering furtively to themselves as they watch Sunwoo attempt to arm wrestle Eric with Haknyeon cheering him on. Kevin and Jacob are the only two calm ones, but that isn’t saying much given that Kevin has fallen asleep on Jacob’s shoulder while the HR rep looks disbelievingly in awe at the man slumped against him. All in all, Hyunjae doesn’t think it’ll be difficult for him to slip away after ten minutes.

He’s proven distinctly wrong, however. To be fair, it’s partially his own fault for getting up five minutes into the ten he _plans_ on waiting, because apparently he has the patience of a child who doesn’t understand delayed gratification, but still. When he gets up, the table immediately goes silent, and nine (Kevin is still fast asleep) pairs of eyes immediately fixate on him. There’s a pregnant pause, until Younghoon asks rather smugly, “Where ya goin’?”

Hyunjae blinks and coughs before saying as convincingly as he can, “Home, I’m pretty beat.” He throws in a yawn for good measure, but the grins on all of their faces only grow.

“Really? So soon after Juyeon hyung left as well?” Haknyeon asks with a smirk. “Such a shame,” Eric says solemnly. “A real shame,” chimes Changmin.

“You’re all bastards,” Hyunjae growls, keeping his blush in check as he shoves and pushes his way out from the throng of chairs and bodies. “I’m going home alone.” _(Technically true although also not really.)_

He valiantly ignores the muffled laughter and aggressively loud whispers that follow him to the door of the pub, instead focusing on the way the cool autumn night air fills his lungs and clears the hazy fog of desire that has settled over his senses. Swiftly, he hops in his car and then he’s speeding down the Seoul streets back to his apartment, every minute before being pressed back into Juyeon’s solid frame seeming to crawl.

The car is about halfway there when he gets a text on his personal phone. Mouth dry, he glances at the screen that’s propped up on the dashboard, and what he sees makes a white hot bolt of yearning skitter through his body.

_Juyeonie:_

Hyung hurry  
So hard  
Wanna fuck you  
If that’s ok w/ you that is

He groans softly, feeling hyper aware of every pulse of blood through his veins. Juyeon’s youthful combination of shyness and confidence is going to be his undoing. By the time he stumbles through the lift doors and hurriedly enters his code, his heart is hammering low in his throat when he sees the light in his bedroom dimly illuminate the otherwise dark apartment. Juyeon, the clever little thing he is, has remembered how to set his lights to low brightness, and Hyunjae finds himself entirely winded when he steps through the door to his room.

Juyeon is lying against his headboard, barefoot but still otherwise clothed, his white shirt half unbuttoned to reveal his chest that rises and sinks heavily with each breath, one enormous hand grasping the very obvious bulge in his dark slacks. He’s grunting softly as he palms himself over the fabric, but when he sees Hyunjae in the doorway, a slow, lascivious smirk stretches across his sinful mouth. 

“Hyung,” he rumbles huskily, moving his hand to prop himself up into a full sitting position on the bed. “What took you so long?” he asks as Hyunjae approaches the bed slowly, shrugging his suit jacket off. 

“Tried to get away as fast as I could Juyeonie,” Hyunjae murmurs, placing one knee on the bed as Juyeon draws closer and closer. “Hyung’s sorry for making you wait.” 

“S’okay,” Juyeon mumbles, leaning in to cup his large hand over Hyunjae’s cheek, the other deftly undoing a couple of buttons on his shirt so that it can traverse the expanse of Hyunjae’s pale chest, undeterred. 

Hyunjae does the same to Juyeon’s shirt, dexterously working down the buttons until the entire thing is open, leaving Juyeon’s golden skin exposed for Hyunjae’s mouth to explore. He kisses the sharp line of Juyeon’s jaw, nibbling and licking as he makes his way south, relishing the gravelly grunts and soft whines the younger man lets out. He notes with pleasure the way Juyeon seems particularly sensitive around his hip bones, writhing with pitchy gasps that spill from his lips like nectar from overripe fruit; Hyunjae takes care to suck purpling bruises into the sharp V that protrudes beneath Juyeon’s tanned skin, decorating it with tender bites.

“Lift up,” he says into Juyeon’s skin, and the dark-haired man complies immediately, raising his hips so that Hyunjae can quickly undo the clasp of his trousers. Hyunjae tugs firmly, and the fabric slides off of Juyeon’s taut muscles to reveal toned legs encased in tight, navy boxer briefs. 

_“Fuck,_ look at you,” Hyunjae mutters. Juyeon’s cock is straining under the tight fabric, and even under the muted light, he can make out how well-hung the younger is. He runs his hand lightly over the length of it, biting his lip when Juyeon bucks swiftly upwards to meet the contact. Hyunjae sits up then, running his hands back up Juyeon’s torso to push the white shirt fully off his shoulders, and then, gently, questioningly, takes both of Juyeon’s hands into his own and places them on the headboard.

Hyunjae’s eyes are filled with hesitance, but before he can ask if Juyeon is okay with it, the other nods with hooded eyes. “Like that,” he slurs out, voice dripping with desire. Hyunjae breathes a short sigh of relief, then leans down to kiss right behind Juyeon’s ear. 

“Hold on to that, okay? Hyung’s gonna ride you,” he asks, and Juyeon’s resulting moan is answer enough if his frantic nodding didn’t do it alone. Emboldened, Hyunjae quickly shucks off his own clothes, and Juyeon watches him dark, glazed-over eyes, his hands still obediently clasping the top of the headboard. Juyeon gasps sharply, however, when Hyunjae pulls his own boxer briefs off hastily, his eyes zeroing in hungrily on the blonde’s flushed cock that smacks against his abdomen when it is finally released from its confines. Even so, he stays still, pliant and unmoving, but when Hyunjae reaches over to his nightstand to grab the lube and and moves to prep himself, Juyeon suddenly surges up.

“I’m not letting you prep yourself,” he snorts, as if the very notion is absurd, and Hyunjae, who’s had lovers in the past who were uninterested, to say the least, in participating in anything short of penetration, starts. “That’s just bad manners,” Juyeon frowns, grabbing the bottle from Hyunjae.

Sweetly, he moves Hyunjae to lean down so that his chest is pressed against the bed while his knees are still holding his bottom half upwards. Wordlessly, Hyunjae listens as the bottle cap clicks open, and watches Juyeon squeeze out a generous amount of lube onto his fingers that he proceeds to warm up. A soft kiss is pressed to the base of his spine, then, and Juyeon’s clean hand massages his plump backside reverently. 

More kisses ghost along his skin, and Hyunjae shivers from the intimacy of being spread out like this before Juyeon’s wandering lips, but he has no time to feel embarrassed because Juyeon murmurs a continuous stream of praises as he traverses Hyunjae’s pale body. Just as Juyeon presses a particularly sensual, open-mouthed kiss to his right cheek, Hyunjae feels a wet fingertip nudge at his back entrance.

He sucks in a sharp breath then, moaning softly as Juyeon’s long finger slips past the first tight ring of muscle, gently sliding deeper and deeper. “Christ, so tight hyung,” Juyeon grunts, staring at his finger that slowly drags out then pushes back in again, one large hand holding Hyunjae’s back down in a steadying grip. 

“Mm!” Hyunjae whimpers into his sheets as Juyeon picks up speed, writhing when the other bites down gently onto his left globe. “Another Juyeonie,” he orders breathlessly, and Juyeon immediately complies, scissoring a second finger into his scorching tunnel in a way that makes Hyunjae lightheaded. 

He continues like this for a while, and just when Hyunjae is about to ask him to add a third finger, Juyeon draws his hand out, eliciting an irritated whine from Hyunjae. Juyeon shushes him quickly, then asks a question that makes Hyunjae’s cock twitch out a spool of pre-come. “Can I eat you out hyung?” 

Hyunjae whips around to stare at Juyeon, but the younger is simply looking back at him, a hopeful gleam in his dark eyes as he smiles at Hyunjae. “Y-yeah, you can definitely do that, mhm,” he mumbles, quickly sitting up to push Juyeon back down on the bed. 

“Want me to put my hands back here?” Juyeon asks teasingly, raising his arms to grip the headboard once more, and Hyunjae is briefly distracted by the way his pectoral muscles ripple as he does so before he nods, pleased. “Good boy,” he whispers into Juyeon’s lips, and the answering whine he gets makes Hyunjae dizzy with lust. 

“C’mon, lie back so hyung can sit on your face,” he coaxes, taking pleasure in the way Juyeon’s abs look as he writhes, lying flat so that Hyunjae can crawl on top of him. Hyunjae assesses the logistics of the situation, and decides that it would probably be best for him to kneel facing away from Juyeon’s face and lower himself down that way. As he does so, he looks behind him to watch the way Juyeon’s eyes are fixated on the arch of his back, tongue darting out to wet his lips the closer Hyunjae’s ass gets to his face.

In a teasing mood, Hyunjae coils his back to sway left and right slightly, enjoying the way Juyeon bites his lip and lets out a pleading groan. Tantalisingly slow, his one hand reaches forward to grip Juyeon’s still straining cock, quickly slipping under the boxer briefs to stroke it firmly. The sudden jerk of the younger’s hips is entirely too satisfying, as Juyeon whines loudly, _“Hyung!”_ Hyunjae’s small hand strokes quickly down the pulsating length, watching as groan after groan rumbles out of Juyeon’s chest, the vein in his neck pulsing desperately.

Finally taking pity on Juyeon (and himself really), Hyunjae lowers his ass down, and Juyeon immediately sticks his tongue out to lick a fat stripe up the crease. _“Fuck!”_ Hyunjae gasps, hand stilling momentarily as he sinks onto Juyeon’s face, his free hand reaching back to pry his cheek open. Juyeon laps at Hyunjae’s entrance as if he’s starved, grunting and groaning into the cleft as he sucks noisily. 

“God, so good baby,” Hyunjae whimpers, his hips suddenly snapping when Juyeon unceremoniously shoves his tongue into Hyunjae’s loosened entrance. “Oh Christ!” he wails, almost toppling over with the sudden jolt of pleasure that runs through him as he frenetically releases Juyeon’s cock to grab the other’s torso for support. He rides Juyeon’s face frantically, listening to the obscene, sopping wet sounds of Juyeon’s lips smacking against his furled hole. 

“G-god, feels- _hngh_ \- Juyeonie,” he groans incoherently as his hips whip faster and faster, and Juyeon’s returning groan vibrates against the sensitive skin of his entrance and makes him shriek. It’s only then that he notices how the tip of his cock has turned a dark red, shiny from the amount of pre-come leaking out of it in translucent spools, so he hurriedly lifts himself off, adoring the unhappy grunt that Juyeon lets out when he does so.

“Holy shit,” he says shakily, crawling forward to give his aching knees a break. He turns back to look at Juyeon, and the sight is almost his undoing — Juyeon’s dark hair is in complete disarray, his pink lips and chin shiny with spit, a rather feral look in his feline eyes. “Made hyung feel so good baby,” Hyunjae praises, and in his peripheral vision he sees Juyeon’s cock twitch. 

“Aw, hyung’s sorry for neglecting you,” he coos, leaning forward to place a delicate kiss on the angry, red tip, and Juyeon lets out a cracked moan in response. Gently, he suckles at the head, lapping up the salty pre-come that had gathered there in the interim, and Juyeon’s hips buck upwards involuntarily. “G-guh _hyung,_ so- _ngh,”_ Juyeon moans when Hyunjae bobs his head, sucking punishingly hard for a few seconds.

He pops off then, quickly wiping at the little string of saliva that trails from his bottom lip to the pulsing head of Juyeon’s cock. Hyunjae leans over to grab the condom he had pulled out of the nightstand along with the lube, tearing at the package with his teeth. Deftly, he grabs Juyeon’s cock by the base, noting with a small amount of pride the way it jerks and spits out another drool of pre-come when he does so, before rolling the condom on. 

“Want hyung to ride your cock Juyeonie?” he asks, and Juyeon nods frantically. 

“Please, wanna feel you,” he pleads, and how can Hyunjae say no when he begs so prettily? He crawls off of Juyeon so that he can straddle him, guiding the thick cock between his cheeks. Slowly, he nudges his entrance with the tip, his mouth falling open at the impossible stretch while he sinks steadily down.

“O-oh,” he whimpers when he fully bottoms out, and Juyeon’s gritted jaw suggests that he’s not in a much better state. One small hand reaches behind him to fondle at Juyeon’s heavy balls, but Juyeon’s eyes fly open in a panic as his hips snap upwards involuntarily.

 _“Shit,_ hyung don’t do that! M’gonna come!” he pants nervously, eyes darting between Hyunjae’s open pink lips and his flushed cock. 

“Sorry baby, sorry,” Hyunjae whispers reassuringly, releasing his hand to run it soothingly up Juyeon’s torso. Languidly, he raises his hips, pulling off almost the entirety of Juyeon’s cock before sinking back down. 

“ _Ungh_ hyung- ah!” Juyeon’s voice snaps when Hyunjae sits back down, his hips shifting underneath the blonde. “Please- more, I-”

“Shh, Juyeonie, trust hyung okay baby?” Hyunjae murmurs, and the immediacy of the nod he gets is so endearing that he almost wants to get off completely just to kiss Juyeon for a full minute. He doesn’t though, instead, riding faster and faster as he lets those delightfully broken moans wash over him. 

Hyunjae slams himself down on Juyeon again and again, his own cock bouncing needily in front of him, but all he can think of is the beautiful man underneath him whose arms are straining with how hard he’s gripping the headboard, head thrown back exposing his bobbing Adam’s apple. 

“So gorgeous for me Juyeonie,” he praises, and Juyeon pistons upwards involuntarily to batter directly into his prostate, making him cry out. “Oh _Christ!_ ” 

Hyunjae falls forward, hands splayed right beside Juyeon’s on the headboard as he struggles to catch his breath, but Juyeon’s frayed control seems to snap then because suddenly he’s thrusting upwards frantically, digging his heels into the mattress to gain more leverage as he rams thick and deep into Hyunjae, his biceps flexing as he grips the headboard with white-knuckled hands.

 _“Ngh-_ Juyeonie f-fuck!” Hyunjae wails, his body helpless to do anything except to let Juyeon plunge furiously into him. “Y-yes fuck, harder baby,” he keens, and Juyeon complies underneath him, jaw grinding as he fucks up into Hyunjae’s pulsating hole.

“Mmf- shit, feel good?” Juyeon asks between thrusts, sweat trickling down his brow and jaw with exertion. Hyunjae nods desperately, whining and sobbing, as he attempts to grind his own hips into the thick cock slamming into him.

“So good baby, made hyung feel s-so- _God!_ ” Hyunjae’s thighs are trembling with the force of his impeding orgasm, and his ass starts gripping Juyeon in earnest now, clenching in tight pulses that make Juyeon’s mouth fall open. 

“ _Shit_ hyung, I g-gotta- m’gonna come,” Juyeon says frantically, his eyes wild with panic. Hyunjae whines at that, riding a little faster in an attempt to chase the cliff’s edge while Juyeon grunts underneath him.

“G-god, a little longer Juyeonie, hyung’s a-almost there,” he moans, one hand coming down to Juyeon’s chest to give himself leverage as he pistons his hips, the slapping of Juyeon’s balls against his ass ringing lewdly in the room. 

“Can I touch?” Juyeon pleads, and for a second, Hyunjae’s lust-addled brain struggles to comprehend what he means, but then he sees Juyeon’s right hand shifting nervously against the headboard and understands. He nods, an explosive whine bursting from his lips when Juyeon’s right hand grips his cock and strokes quickly, twisting with just the right amount of pressure to make him see stars.

“Yes, yes _g-god,_ so good baby!” he shrieks, feeling the coil in his abdomen reach a breaking point.

“Fuck, wanna see you come hyung, please,” Juyeon grunts, and his lovely request pushes Hyunjae over the edge as black spots dance behind his squeezed shut eyelids.

“O-oh Christ- _hah-_ coming Juyeonie!” he cries, body convulsing as his cock spurts out heavy shots of pearly white come all over Juyeon’s torso. His orgasm seems to trigger Juyeon’s, because then the younger man is arching his back up shockingly high, a fractured moan splitting through the air.

“ _Hyung!_ ” Juyeon howls, the cock inside Hyunjae twitching violently as his orgasm wracks through him. “I- I- _fuck!_ ” 

And Hyunjae, who’s struggling through the last waves of his own orgasm, leans down to cradle Juyeon’s face, pressing soothing kisses up and down his cheeks as his body thrashes with painful aftershocks.

“Sh- fuck, so good Juyeonie baby, such a good boy for your hyung,” he murmurs tenderly while Juyeon grunts and pants, the spasms finally calming down into tired writhing. Hyunjae doesn’t stop mouthing gently at the juncture between Juyeon’s jaw and his ear, licking and lapping at the salty skin comfortingly while Juyeon struggles to catch his breath. 

Finally, long arms encircle Hyunjae’s body as Juyeon holds him close, nosing his own kisses into Hyunjae’s temple. 

“Shit,” he chuckles tiredly. “That was- wow.” 

Hyunjae snickers in agreement, propping himself up so that he can kiss Juyeon properly on the lips. The younger reciprocates eagerly, sliding his tongue intimately along Hyunjae’s bottom lip and sucking. One large hand strokes his jaw gently, tracing the sharpness of it as he holds Hyunjae’s face. 

When they finally pull apart, Juyeon’s eyes shine affectionately up at Hyunjae, travelling reverently over Hyunjae’s face as if he’s soaking his appearance in. “So beautiful,” he whispers, and Hyunjae would blush except he’s too busy thinking the same thing about Juyeon — admiring the slant of his eyes, the curve of his mouth, the slight crookedness of his otherwise perfect nose.

Hyunjae slides back down to bury his face in Juyeon’s neck, when his now-cooled come splattered across Juyeon’s stomach suddenly comes into contact with his skin, and he yelps disgustedly at it. Juyeon chuckles, leaving a quick kiss on the tip of Hyunjae’s nose before he rolls him over to pull out slowly.

Hyunjae winces in discomfort when he does so, but Juyeon’s apologetic kiss and the way his ass looks when he hops off the bed to deposit the used condom in the bathroom more than make up for it. When he comes back, his torso is cleaned, and he has a small wad of tissue in his hand to wipe off any smears that Hyunjae got on himself. When Hyunjae reaches for it, however, Juyeon scoffs and bats his hand away, so Hyunjae is left to watch in tender amusement at Juyeon cleaning him like he’s a prized artefact made of glass.

“There,” Juyeon says softly, throwing the tissue into a nearby bin after he deems his work complete. He crawls back into bed, wrapping his body around Hyunjae’s as he ghosts languid kisses up and down Hyunjae’s bare shoulder. A silence falls over them, content and warm, as they bask in each other’s presence, like the soft glow of morning’s first light. Hyunjae listens to the sound of Juyeon’s steady breath in his ear, his heart still hammering from their romp when—

“Don’t you think it’s kind of unsafe to set your home passcode as your birthday?” Juyeon suddenly pipes up from beside him. Hyunjae, who had been gazing sleepily up at the ceiling, turns to look at him, a breathless laugh on his lips.

“What?” he asks, disbelievingly, mouth curled into an incredulous smile.

“I said, you probably shouldn’t have your birthday be your home passcode hyung,” Juyeon repeats, looking amused and terribly fond. 

“You know my birthday?” Hyunjae intones, rolling to prop himself up on one elbow, and he revels in the way Juyeon’s husky laughter fills the room. 

“‘Course, what kind of question is that?” he asks, eyes twinkling. “Do you know mine?” Juyeon suddenly challenges.

“Don’t be ridiculous, it’s the fifteenth of January,” Hyunjae grumbles promptly, poking Juyeon in his ribs. Juyeon leans up at that, a satisfied expression on his handsome face, to kiss Hyunjae lightly on the cheekbone.

“See? Same thing,” he murmurs, settling back down on the pillow and closing his eyes. “Sleep now hyung,” he mumbles, pulling Hyunjae onto his chest, and the blonde lets himself be dragged like a rag-doll to drape his body over Juyeon’s, noticing affectionately the way Juyeon’s breath immediately evens out into slumber. For a moment, he wonders if they’ll be cold without the covers on, especially now that it’s autumn, but as soon as his torso touches Juyeon’s almost supernaturally warm skin, he dismisses the thought with a secretive roll of his eyes.

As he lays there, still a little sweaty and more than a little sated with Juyeon asleep beneath him, Hyunjae belatedly realises that it’s the third month to the day since Juyeon first wandered into his life.   
  


~~  
  


It’s sort of shocking how easy things are with Juyeon, Hyunjae realises. At first, he naively wonders if every relationship is like this, if perhaps the reason things didn’t work out in the past was because he himself wasn’t ready for a commitment, and that this was the root cause of all the arguments and fights that inevitably lead to splitting ways. When he casually mentions this to Hyunjoon over lunch one day, however, the pale boy snorts and fixes him with dubious eyes.

“You’re joking right?” he asks, his chopsticks paused in midair. At Hyunjae’s quirked eyebrow, Hyunjoon sputters and puts his bowl down to turn to face him bodily. “Are you serious?” A pause. “ _No_ every relationship is not like this, you dimwit,” Hyunjoon cries testily. “It’s only this easy when it’s right — most people end up arguing all the time or finding that they just can’t bear to be around one another.” 

Hyunjae frowns at that. “I can’t imagine ever not wanting to be around Juyeon,” he says confusedly, jumping a little then glaring when Hyunjoon makes gagging sounds.

“Yes we get it, you adore each other very publicly, completely irreverent of the fact that not everyone in our office is happily single, and we’re all just _psyched_ for you both,” he sneers sarcastically. Hyunjoon raises his chopsticks to eat another bite of japchae, but a pointed jostle from Hyunjae’s elbow sends the mouthful flying while Hyunjoon yelps indignantly.

“Yah, hyung!” 

“Don’t be a brat and you’ll get to eat the rest of it,” Hyunjae grouses into his own bowl. Hyunjoon clicks his tongue but mercifully shuts up, sullenly eating the next couple of bites in silence. Then—

“Seriously hyung, don’t take this for granted. Not everyone is lucky enough to find someone as compatible with them as Juyeon hyung is with you,” Hyunjoon says softly, and Hyunjae looks over to smile at his executive assistant.

“I know Joonie, thanks,” Hyunjae returns with a smile, briefly clasping Hyunjoon’s shoulder before returning to his food. 

As they’re leaving the restaurant, Hyunjoon jerks a little as he looks at his phone and says, “Crap, don’t forget that you’re meeting with the new associate they hired today.” Hyunjae cocks his head — this is the first he’s hearing of a new attorney, he’s sure.

Almost as if he can hear Hyunjae’s thoughts, Hyunjoon rolls his eyes. “You’ve definitely been told about this. Sangyeon hyung and Younghoon hyung interviewed him a month after they interviewed Juyeon, remember? They sent you an email about wanting to hire him and you responded, ‘I don’t give a shit, I’m busy.’ Remember?” It certainly sounds like him, so Hyunjae is willing to believe Hyunjoon, although he truthfully is still drawing a blank.

“Alright, what’s his name again?” he asks as he shrugs on his coat. 

“Man Namwoo, he graduated from Korea University a few months ago,” Hyunjoon replies, walking out of the restaurant. “I think Jacob and Sangyeon are getting him set up now, so he’ll probably come round to introduce him to you in half an hour.”

Hyunjae grunts. “If he’s terrible, I’m never letting them hire anyone without me again,” he says mutinously. 

Hyunjoon scoffs at that, responding tartly, “Yeah, cause the last hire they made without you went _so_ poorly in your favour.” He quirks an eyebrow challengingly at Hyunjae who makes a scornful noise in the back of his throat.

“Juyeonie was a fluke — he could’ve been hired by sea-slugs and he still would’ve been a successful lawyer,” he retorts sharply. Hyunjoon doesn’t rise to the bait, just sighs and slings an arm over Hyunjae’s shoulder.

“You’re so whipped it’s embarrassing.” Hyunjae would shove him off but it’s not like he’s wrong.

Half an hour later, Hyunjae is sitting at his desk reading through a draft brief Kevin sent him when a knock sounds at his door. Feeling far more prepared than he was the last time Sangyeon came to his office with a new hire, he stands up and makes sure he looks presentable before calling out an invitation.

Sangyeon and Jacob walk in with a young man following closely behind him. His eyes are shrewd and a little beady as they take in Hyunjae’s office, darting around calculatingly before settling on Hyunjae himself. 

“Hyunjae, this is Man Namwoo-ssi. He’s the new associate we hired to work on contracts specifically alongside myself and Younghoon,” Sangyeon introduces the new attorney, and the fact that his normally warm expression is fixed into a polite, yet disengaged smile sends warning bells ringing in Hyunjae’s mind.

“Nice to meet you Lee Hyunjae-ssi,” Namwoo says, bowing, and Hyunjae echoes the sentiment. 

“What university did you attend, Namwoo-ssi?” Hyunjae asks in an attempt to appear politely engaged. 

“Korea University,” he murmurs back, not looking in Hyunjae’s eyes as he stares at the diploma hanging on the wall. “I see you went to…” he trails off, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. 

“Seoul must’ve been quite the adjustment after attending university in a small town,” he says instead, finally turning to face Hyunjae properly. 

Hyunjae stares impassively back at him. All his life, he’s had to contend with wealthy pricks who looked down on him for not growing up with money, for attending a small school on a full scholarship so that his parents wouldn’t have to pay, for working two jobs the entire time thus leaving little room to socialise. It’s a big part of why he worked so ruthlessly hard to get to where he is now, and he finds himself somewhat amused that this _kid_ thinks he can be patronised.

“Places may differ, Namwoo-ssi, but I’ve found that some people are the same wherever you go,” Hyunjae responds mildly, although there’s an undercurrent of venom in his tone that makes Jacob tense up. 

“We should continue on our tour, Namwoo-ssi, please excuse us Hyunjae,” he says quickly, gesturing out the door for the new hire to follow him. A last supercilious glance is thrown Hyunjae’s way before Namwoo bows and leaves, and Hyunjae raises his eyebrows at Sangyeon behind the associate’s back. Sangyeon simply sighs dejectedly, rolling his eyes in a telling manner before following the other two out, leaving Hyunjae to gaze contemplatively at his closed office door.

Slowly, he makes his way back to his desk and pulls out his personal phone. 

_Hyunjae:_

The new associate is a prick.

A second later, he gets a text back.

_Hyunjoon (Brat):_

I know, Kevin already came and  
bitched to me about it. He looks  
like an ass.

Hyunjae sighs and pockets his phone, turning back to his work. He’s not a huge believer in second chances, but he has more important things to do right now than to try and ruin this new hire’s life, so he momentarily leaves the issue alone. 

It’s around six by the time he finishes reviewing Kevin's work and tidies up all his own, and he’s feeling more than a little irritable about the fact that he hasn’t had time to see Juyeon all day. Grabbing his coat, Hyunjae walks quickly down the hallway in the hopes that Juyeon’s still in the office so that he can drive him home (hopefully to stay over at his place, but he supposes he’d get over it if Juyeon wanted to go back to his own). 

Hyunjae isn’t surprised when he sees the light on in Juyeon’s office, but when he peeks around the doorway, he feels anxiety creep up his neck when he sees how exhausted Juyeon looks, staring at his computer screen with a frown. The young attorney is so focused on his work that he doesn't even notice Hyunjae looking at him, so the blonde knocks quietly on the doorframe, making Juyeon start a little.

“Oh hey hyungnim,” Juyeon says, the surprised look in his eyes quickly fading away as he focuses back on his desktop. 

_(Hyunjae registers the more formal honorific with mild distaste, but he and Juyeon had agreed early on to keep their professional and personal lives as separate as possible, Besides, it might not do Hyunjae any good to hear Juyeon call him ‘hyung’ in the office anyway, not when he’s heard the way the word moaned, panted, cried out wretchedly sounds spilling from Juyeon’s lips.)_

“What’re you working on?” Hyunjae asks as he walks into the office, leaning over Juyeon’s shoulder to peer at his computer. It looks like an enormous contract littered with red corrections, and Hyunjae’s eyes hurt just looking at it.

“A contract for Sangyeon hyungnim. Namwoo-ssi was supposed to start on it, but since he’s new, I offered to review his work for him before he sent it to Sangyeon hyungnim,” Juyeon replies tiredly, and Hyunjae can palpably feel himself filling with irritation that the new attorney has anything to do with Juyeon being more tired than usual. Still, Juyeon seems to have no hint of reproach in his voice, so Hyunjae bottles it down and says instead, “Ah. I came to see if you wanted a ride home.”

Juyeon jerks and looks up, then, at Hyunjae, then out the window at the dark sky. “Shit I didn’t even realise it was evening,” he mutters, rubbing his eyes. “Yeah, I’ll come over?” Hyunjae can’t help the pleased smile that stretches across his face as he nods. 

“Great. You sure? Don’t feel like you have to, I can drive you back to yours too if you want,” he offers, but he conceals his true desires so poorly that even Juyeon chuckles at him, eyebrows raising in adoring amusement.

“Nah, you have higher thread-count sheets,” he says teasingly, and Hyunjae huffs — although he can’t really muster up the emotions to get annoyed at all, he just feels endlessly, incessantly fond. He waits while Juyeon grabs his own coat, clicking his tongue a little when Juyeon haphazardly drapes the scarf on his neck instead of wrapping it tightly - “You’ll catch a cold, idiot,” as he fixes it - then grabs his hand and links their fingers together because it’s after hours and Hyunjae couldn’t give less of a damn about propriety when it’s after hours.

When they get to his car, he instinctively opens the door for Juyeon, who climbs in with a simpering smile, “Wow, what a gentleman you are hyung.” Hyunjae rolls his eyes and shuts the door behind him, waiting until he’s gotten into his own side of the car to flick Juyeon gently on the forehead. The young man playfully shouts in outrage, but he immediately shuts up when Hyunjae presses a quick kiss to the offending injury, smiling back with lovely dark crescents for eyes.

Unfortunately, the time they actually get to spend together is short lived. By the time they get back to Hyunjae’s flat, Juyeon is already back into work-mode, hardly leaving a kiss on Hyunjae’s lips before he slips off to the study to stare at his laptop.

Hyunjae sighs and goes about the motions of making a simple dinner for the two of them, reminding himself not for the first time that this is simply the reality of Juyeon’s life. When they had first started seeing each other, Hyunjae had been outraged by the sheer number of hours Juyeon worked, but the young attorney has simply fixed him with a look.

“Don’t be ridiculous hyung, I’ve always worked this much,” he said with a quirked eyebrow when Hyunjae had asked him, appalled, why Juyeon hadn’t slept until two in the morning. Hyunjae had opened his mouth to respond but Juyeon cut him off with a, “And don’t offer to lighten my workload. Just because we’re seeing each other doesn’t change the fact that I’m a first-year attorney.” 

Hyunjae had stared at him for a long while before turning over in the bed and grumbled irascibly, feeling helplessness and also reluctant admiration for Juyeon’s work ethic all over again. Juyeon had littered a couple of kitten-like kisses on his exposed shoulder, then said, “It means a lot that you care though, hyung,” and Hyunjae remembers hurrying to bury his smile into his pillow.

Now, as he throws some vegetables into a pan to quickly stir-fry with chicken, Hyunjae mentally berates Man Namwoo for forcing Juyeon to help him with his job because of his incompetency — it’s unfair and uncharitable, especially since all new hires get help from the other associates in the first couple of weeks, but Hyunjae isn’t in the mood to be benevolent, not when he sees dark circles purpling under Juyeon’s eyes. 

When the food is finally finished and tastes good - not great - he walks into the study with two bowls in hand, prepared to sit in there with Juyeon while he works. He’s surprised to see it empty, and frowns for a moment, trying to suss out if Juyeon left unannounced. Just then, he hears furious typing coming from the other end of the apartment, and he leaves the bowls on the dining room table to trail curiously towards his bedroom. Not for the first time (and certainly not for the last), the sight that awaits him on his bed arrests every cell in his body.

Juyeon is sitting on top of his covers, barefoot with his graceful ankles on display, in a full side split, his long legs stretching almost the entire width of Hyunjae’s queen sized bed. 

_“Uhm?”_ Hyunjae squeaks, because _what else is he supposed to do when confronted with this fucking image?_

Juyeon looks up then, throwing a careless smile Hyunjae’s way before re-focusing on his laptop. “Hey hyung, sorry my legs were kind of sore from sitting at a desk all day,” he says distractedly, still typing with long fingers darting across the keyboard. 

Hyunjae makes a strangled noise - a half choke, half gargle - that prompts Juyeon to look up again, concerned. His nostrils flare then, sniffing the air, and he smiles before swinging both legs forward so that they’re in front of him and kneels up. 

“Oh you cooked? Hyung you didn’t have to do that,” he grins, hopping up to kiss Hyunjae on the cheek. “I can spare a few minutes to eat if you want to sit at the dining table,” he says, unaware of the fact that Hyunjae hasn’t followed him out into the hallway until he’s halfway out. 

“Uh hyung?” Juyeon asks, ambling back to wave his hand in Hyunjae’s face. “Are you okay? This is like a scene from a cartoon or something and you have little canaries flying over your head,” he says dubiously, trying to catch Hyunjae’s attention. 

Hyunjae swallows, dry and scratchy, as he opens and closes his mouth. “How is it that we’ve been seeing each other for two months and you’ve _entirely omitted_ to tell me you can do _that?_ ” he croaks accusingly.

Juyeon makes a scrunched up, perplexed face before he realises what Hyunjae is referring to and laughs dismissively. “It’s nothing hyung, I used to dance all the way through uni so I’ve stayed flexible.” When Hyunjae doesn’t respond, he adds sheepishly, “It’s not a big deal, seriously.” 

This seems to jump start Hyunjae’s brain, because what a _fucking absurd_ statement that it’s no big deal that Juyeon can literally open his legs into a 180 degree angle, and Hyunjae is almost furious at the young man for looking so nonchalant about something that metaphorically _snapped the synapses in his brain_. Although he knows he’ll have to file away every salacious idea bouncing in his head for a later date when Juyeon doesn’t have an enormous contract to finish reading, Hyunjae can’t help but have just a little bit of fun right now.

He slowly cocks his head to one side, eyeing Juyeon who suddenly looks nervous under his appraising gaze. 

“Not a big deal, huh?” he drawls, walking towards the younger who gulps. Hyunjae reaches one pale hand out to grab Juyeon by his loose tie, yanking him closer all of a sudden. Juyeon stumbles a little as he’s pulled straight into Hyunjae’s frame, scrambling for purchase on Hyunjae’s shoulders.

“Not such a big deal that you just made hyung painfully hard? Is that what you mean baby?” Hyunjae murmurs hotly into Juyeon’s ear, and the younger lets out a low whine, fisting his hands into Hyunjae’s shirt. Hyunjae traces his tongue delicately over the shell of Juyeon’s ear and the young attorney just _bucks_ into him, groaning while Hyunjae nibbles wetly at his neck.

 _“Hyung_ , I-” he cuts off with a moan when Hyunjae grinds his own hardening cock firmly into Juyeon’s. “I- I-” he stutters, eyes shut in desperation. 

“What do you say to hyung, Juyeonie?” Hyunjae asks dangerously low, undoing the tie so that he can leave a collar of mottling bruises on the golden skin. Juyeon falters, seemingly unsure of what to say until he finally whispers questioningly, “Sorry? I- hyung, I’m sorry?”

It’s dreadfully endearing the way Juyeon seems to be grasping for straws amidst those sharp, breathy gasps, and Hyunjae takes pity on the way he seems to be rapidly approaching a state of being overwhelmed, so he retreats slowly, placing gentler and gentler kisses up Juyeon’s neck until he reaches those bitten lips and pecks at them lightly.

“Sh, good boy Juyeonie,” he murmurs, and Juyeon’s dutiful, helpless nod sends Hyunjae’s heart soaring. He gives them a moment to come down from the high of being wrapped around each other after a day apart, then untangles himself and tugs Juyeon’s hand gently towards the dining room. “C’mon, you gotta eat if you’re going to get that contract done.” 

Juyeon groans when he remembers and sulkily follows him, pressing kisses on Hyunjae’s hand that’s still linked with his and trying to steal more between the bedroom and the dinner table.   
  


~~  
  


Hyunjae has known hardship most of his life — of course he has, growing up underprivileged with parents who had more love than food to give their children, struggling his way through school trying to make any extra money to help pay the bills. As such, he thinks he’s a reasonably good source for commentary on the notion of pain and struggle, which is precisely why he’s not going to judge himself for finding the sensation of watching Juyeon pore tirelessly over a contract at three in the morning distinctly more painful than any of his other hardships have ever been.

Because only he gets to be the judge of that, right?

Regardless, watching Juyeon rub at his eyes fretfully as he scans the contract for the second time that night is agonising, especially when Hyunjae keeps falling asleep beside him on the bed where he’s sitting. Every few minutes, Hyunjae will jerk awake because rather than feeling Juyeon’s solid form wrapped around him, he consistently finds that it is _not_ the case and subsequently, his body will force itself into lucidity to discover precisely why. Settling for placing his hand possessively on one of Juyeon’s thighs feels like the worst concession when he knows exactly what it’s like to fall asleep tucked in the space between Juyeon’s ribcage and arms.

It’s only when it gets to be around 3:30, that Hyunjae starts when he hears the sound of Juyeon’s laptop clicking shut. The body beside him shifts off the bed, and Hyunjae rolls over to blearily watch Juyeon shrug his shirt and trousers off before climbing into bed.

“Finally,” Hyunjae mumbles, making grabby hands at Juyeon who affectionately complies by throwing his arm over Hyunjae’s torso and dragging the blonde into his chest. 

“Goodnight hyung,” Juyeon whispers, kissing the back of Hyunjae’s head, and Hyunjae barely has the presence of mind to slur out a, “Night baby,” before falling promptly back asleep.   
  


~~  
  


Really, Hyunjae probably should’ve known that this wouldn’t be the last of the trouble Man Namwoo would cause him and Juyeon. It’s not that the young attorney is some storied super-villain or anything absurd like that, it’s just that he’s sort of a useless, incompetent asshole is all, Hyunjae thinks mulishly to himself one morning. 

He’s reviewing some of the new hire’s work on a brief, and it’s frankly a mess, which wouldn’t be such an issue if he was apologetic and genuinely trying to keep up. Instead, Hyunjae finds Namwoo smug and recalcitrant, fundamentally uninterested in taking any constructive criticism. The result of this is Hyunjae sitting in his office trying to field off a pounding headache while furiously trying to work through the mistakes so that the can file the brief in time. 

Hyunjae picks up his office phone and quickly dials a number. Not two rings later, Kevin’s voice chirps over the receiver in greeting.

“Come to my office,” Hyunjae says, hanging up immediately afterwards. He’s only made to wait two minutes when Kevin knocks on the door and lets himself in.

“What do you need hyungnim?” he asks, settling down in front of Hyunjae’s desk, a notepad in hand. Hyunjae turns his desktop screen to face Kevin, and the young man’s expression goes slack.

“I-is this the brief you’re meant to file tonight?” he asks disbelievingly, eyes running over the myriad of corrections still to be made. Hyunjae grinds his teeth and nods. 

“It’s completely fucked up, even though I gave Namwoo two weeks to implement my edits and he just sent it back to me this morning with only half of them fixed,” he grits out. Kevin shakes his head, rubbing at his jaw warily.

“Fuck,” he says, and Hyunjae can’t help but think that’s quite an apt way to sum up the situation. 

“Can you see if Changmin and Juyeon are free right now? I think if we split it up between the four of us we can get it done,” Hyunjae says, scrolling through the document to find good breaking points. Kevin nods quickly, getting up to leave when he turns back.

“You don’t want to ask Namwoo and split it into five? Might be faster that way,” he suggests, but Hyunjae simply shakes his head with a vicious expression.

“Namwoo will be lucky if he has a job at the end of the day, and that’s if the filing goes off without a hitch.”

Kevin’s eyebrows might raise in what appears to be surprise, but Hyunjae can see the understanding shining in his dark, intelligent eyes. Everyone around the office is catching onto just how terrible of an employee Namwoo is.

Luckily for the bastard, the four attorneys are able to get everything fixed and proof-read by the deadline. Hyunjae is sitting alone in his office, preparing to submit the document for filing when he hears a knock on his doorway. Tiredly, he calls out an invitation, expecting Hyunjoon or Juyeon, but the person who comes through the door is - unfortunately for Hyunjae - Namwoo.

Hyunjae sits back, an inscrutable expression crossing his face.

“Namwoo-ssi,” he says stonily. “What can I do for you?”

The young man has a caricature of a contrite expression on his face, but underneath his flimsy facade, Hyunjae can clearly see a calculating matrix work in his mind. “Hyunjae-ssi, I wanted to express my regret about the situation that transpired earlier,” Namwoo says placidly. Hyunjae notices the way the young attorney doesn’t actually take responsibility for fucking his coworkers over, simply paying mouth-service instead for appearance’s sake.

“I also wanted to offer to finish filing the brief, both for my own experience and to atone for the trouble,” Namwoo adds, and this time, Hyunjae hears a hint of embarrassment and guilt that trickles through the normally haughty voice. It’s enough to make him sigh and pinch his nose bridge. _I really fucking hope he doesn’t make me regret this_ , he thinks sullenly to himself.

“Alright, you can. Do you want me to sit with you while you do it?” he asks, and - as expected - Namwoo shakes his head.

“No need Hyunjae-ssi, I’ll handle it. Thank you for the opportunity,” Namwoo says, before bowing and excusing himself. 

Hyunjae stares at his closed door for a moment, feeling a strange, cold foreboding trickling through his veins, but he shakes his head. It’s late and he wants to get home to Juyeon.

By the time he gets back to his flat, he can smell the scent of kimchi jjigae floating through his front door, and it makes a reluctant smile across his face. He opens the door to hear Juyeon whistling to himself in the kitchen, tie hanging loosely around his collar and in bare feet in spite of the fact that autumn has fully set in now, and the nights are getting chilly with the coming winter.

“Juyeonie,” Hyunjae calls, kicking his shoes off and slipping plush slippers on — Juyeon may be built like a furnace but Hyunjae still gets frigidly cold whenever the temperature drops even a couple degrees below what he’s comfortable with. 

“Hey hyung,” Juyeon says over the spitting sound of oil in the pan. “Did you get your filing done?” 

Hyunjae walks into the kitchen and wraps his arms around Juyeon’s tapered waist, digging his nose into the cleft of the younger’s shoulder blades to just _inhale_ for a second. Juyeon seems to understand, and keeps somewhat still in spite of the food that is rapidly cooking in the pot. After a beat passes, Hyunjae raises his head and says tiredly, “Namwoo said he’d handle it so I gave him a chance.” 

The young man hums in response, and Hyunjae shifts so that he can lean against a counter to watch Juyeon cook. “Do you think that was a mistake?” he asks dubiously, and Juyeon looks at him askance, mirth dancing in his eyes.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine hyung,” Juyeon says placatingly, reaching a long arm out to squeeze Hyunjae’s wrist briefly before returning to the task at hand. “Sorry you had a stressful day though.”

“It’s fine,” Hyunjae replies, a little shortly because he’s still tense and wound up. “Let’s just eat so I can sleep and put the day behind me.” 

Juyeon’s immediately apologetic expression makes him go a little ashen, and Hyunjae’s mouth falls open disbelievingly. “No way. You’re not serious. You don’t actually have more work do you?” he asks, feeling his muscles coil tighter with misplaced irritation. 

Juyeon nods and switches off the fire, plating the food neatly. “I do, I have some evidence exhibits to read over before we submit them to the judge, and then I have to finish drafting a brief for Younghoon hyungnim,” he says morosely, bringing the food out to the dining table as he does so. 

Hyunjae follows, barely concealed aggravation written across his features. “You couldn’t’ve finished it earlier?” he asks — and he knows it’s unfair, knows that that’s a shitty thing to say because Juyeon spent a good part of his day helping Hyunjae out with his case instead of working on his own tasks. Juyeon’s eyes widen briefly in surprise, a flash of hurt sparking behind his dark irises before he seems to swallow it down.

“No, I didn’t have enough time,” Juyeon responds mildly, although Hyunjae can hear the edge of embarrassment in his voice, and _god_ he feels like an asshole, but Hyunjae, with all of his accomplishments borne from relentless hard work, has in his thirty one years never really learned how to say sorry, so he simply nods tersely and sits down at the table.

They eat in uncomfortable silence - for the first time since they started seeing one another - as they each stew in their own thoughts, a heavy malaise settling over the two of them like an ominous fog. Hyunjae quietly offers to clean the dishes, to which Juyeon accepts kindly if not warmly, and he tensely watches the younger’s back retreating into the study.

It’s late by the time Juyeon emerges, and of course Hyunjae hasn’t spent the last few hours relaxing like a normal human being — no, he paced for about half of the time and then spent the other half nervously flicking through channels on the TV until his head feels full of static. He’s just about to climb into bed to prepare for a fitful night of sleep when Juyeon pads quietly into the room, tie and laptop in hand. 

He doesn’t say anything when he sees Hyunjae watching him, just offers him a small smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes, before putting his things down and undressing. 

_(The silence between them feels like it stretches the expanse of the universe, thick and ponderous with implication.)_

“Gonna go wash up hyung,” Juyeon says quietly, coming over to the bed to squeeze his hand, and the absurdity that Juyeon is the one trying bridge the unease when Hyunjae had been the brute isn’t lost on the elder. He nods, clasping Juyeon’s hand back in what he hopes is some pathetic imitation of an apology that Juyeon might have the graces to accept, then lets go and pulls his phone out to scroll listlessly while waiting for the younger to return.

It’s when he’s going through his emails distractedly that he sees an automated message from the court. Hyunjae’s mouth goes dry when he sees the email subject line - “Filing Rejected” - and he opens it with mounting fury building in his veins. The email isn’t particularly informative, but one thing is clear — Man Namwoo somehow managed to fuck this simple task up too, and now they’ve missed the deadline, potentially forfeiting a number of their clients’ rights to the other side. 

Furiously, he slams his fingers into the call pad on his phone and grinds his teeth as he waits for Namwoo to pick up.

“‘Lo?” a slurred voice answers the phone, loud background noise echoing.

“Namwoo,” Hyunjae hisses, completely dropping all honourifics in his ire. “Would you care to explain how you managed to fuck up the filing?”

There’s a pause, and Hyunjae hears feet shuffling as the noise gets dimmer, until Namwoo says, “Wait what happened? And who is this?”

“It’s your boss you imbecile,” Hyunjae snarls. “You fucked up the filing and now our client is going to have to cede a shitload of his rights to the other side, did you know that? Or is your incompetent little brain incapable of processing that much information? You’re a fucking embarrassment to your prissy little law school, you inane half-wit.”

“Hey now-”

“Shut the fuck up you waste of space,” Hyunjae cuts in, incandescently enraged. “Consider yourself lucky that I clerked with that judge when I was still at school, because otherwise this whole case would’ve been completely lost. Now I’m going to spend the rest of my fucking night trying to fix your mistake, and if I am anything short of successful, you’d better start finding a way to rephrase your ineptitude when interviewers ask why you were fired.” He doesn’t wait for a response, just hangs up with a slam of his finger. 

Growling, he pulls his laptop out of his briefcase and pounds, seething, on the keyboard as he tries to rectify the situation. He’s so busy trying to urgently fix the erroneous filing that he doesn’t hear Juyeon come out of the bathroom.

“You didn’t have to chew him out like that.” Juyeon’s voice is soft and reproachful from behind him, and he hears the familiar footsteps draw near. A pointed chin is rested lightly on his shoulder as long arms wrap around his bare torso. “It was one mistake, and he obviously didn’t mean it.” 

Hyunjae, still too pent up with irritation and frustration, doesn’t let himself melt into the embrace like he’d like to. Instead, he holds himself stiffly, unrelenting, still focused on the computer screen before him where the error glares defiantly back. 

“I did. It was a fucking stupid mistake and now I have to fix it, just like I always do when someone fucks up,” he replies shortly, fingers working quickly as he types out an email to the judge and opposing counsel. 

Juyeon sighs by his ear, nudging his neck gently. “Hyung, c’mon. Don’t let it upset you so much, it’s not good for you,” he murmurs, pressing soft kisses up the line of Hyunjae’s shoulder. 

“ _I’m_ fine, the question is whether or not Man Namwoo is going to make it at this firm or if he’s going to get fired like he deserves to be,” Hyunjae mutters contemptuously, and Juyeon’s sharp intake of breath grates on his already frayed nerves. 

“Are you serious? Hyung, it was one mistake, I don’t think it warrants-”

“Look, just ‘cause we’re fucking doesn’t mean you suddenly get to tell me how to do my job,” Hyunjae snaps, eyes still trained on the screen in front of him when his brain catches up to his tongue. His breath hitches, and he whips around to stare at Juyeon, a repeal already on his lips when he sees the rigid expression on Juyeon’s face.

“I see. Is that what we’re doing then?” he asks coldly, the immeasurable hurt in his eyes freezing over rapidly into icy contempt. Hyunjae’s chest is impossibly tight as he watches Juyeon hop off the bed and quickly pull on his trousers, his tongue completely uncooperative in spite of the screaming echoing in his brain. He watches, dry mouthed, as Juyeon gives him a last searching look - almost as if he’s waiting for something that never comes - before striding out of his bedroom.

The sound of the door closing _(because Juyeon would never slam his door, would never do damage to Hyunjae’s things no matter how hurt or angry he was)_ resonates hauntingly in the flat, and Hyunjae finds himself unable to move for a long while. 

  
~~

  
If Hyunjae thinks there will be a big blowout the next day at work that will be embarrassing but resolve the situation, he’s wrong. He sleeps poorly that night, running through every possible scenario in his head — of Juyeon shouting at him in a conference room, of Juyeon throwing water on him, of Juyeon punching him square in the jaw. The enormous bed feels disturbingly empty without Juyeon’s long frame radiating heat and Hyunjae fails to find even a trace of lingering warmth on the pillow he normally uses. It’s sad, and miserable, and Hyunjae feels very, very alone.

When he enters the office the following morning, he’s tired but hopeful that seeing Juyeon will fix everything. It’s only when he encounters the young man sipping wearily at a cup of coffee with Changmin in the kitchen that he realises it won’t be that easy — when Juyeon’s eyes flicker up to meet his, there’s none of the familiar brightness that Hyunjae has grown so used to, that he’s started to find indispensable in his day. Instead, Juyeon’s dark irises are carefully blank, and he offers Hyunjae a polite, tight smile before turning his attention back to Changmin who hasn’t noticed Hyunjae at all.

The relieved smile that had stretched his mouth when he first saw Juyeon dies on his lips, and Hyunjae walks away dejectedly, picking nervously at his cuticles (a habit he thought he’d long since gotten rid of). When he gets to his office, he quickly shuts the door and slumps against it, running a hand through his hair. He can only hope that Juyeon will approach him sometime during the day, because God only knows Hyunjae has too much of an emotional wasteland inside him to do it himself.

He sets about pulling things from his desk, fretfully trying to find some imitation of normalcy when his heart is thudding unpleasantly quick in his ribcage. He opens documents, flips binders open, clicks emails, all without really seeing them, a distracted haze having settled over his eyes. As Hyunjae chews at his bottom lip, eyes flickering to his conspicuously shut office door, it occurs to him for the first time that perhaps Juyeon might not be the first one to reach out this time. 

After all, what reason has Hyunjae given him? When Juyeon bared his soul in words of devotion, Hyunjae gave him silence broken only by the smallest admissions. When Juyeon wore his heart on his sleeve for Hyunjae to see, Hyunjae gave him carefully portioned out affection, too afraid to give too much and be turned away. Why should Juyeon think that those ugly words that spilled so easily from Hyunjae’s lips like black tar were anything short of the truth?

And they’re not. That’s the worst part. Because while Hyunjae thought he had kept his heart close, inaccessible to the outside world, Juyeon had slipped in somewhere along the crevices between his ribcage, and before Hyunjae could even think to consciously offer his paltry little organ to Juyeon, he realised it was already long gone, sitting comfortably in the pocket of a young man with golden skin and crescent eyes. Perhaps that’s why it was so easy to fall into the endless galaxy in Juyeon’s eyes — because the decision to lose himself had already been made for him, by the young man himself or by the stars in the sky. 

Impulsively, Hyunjae stands up, marching to Juyeon’s office. He’s so certain he can do this - that he can tell Juyeon exactly how he feels, how terribly sorry he is - and yet, with every footstep, the courage withers, shrinking smaller and smaller until Hyunjae is right in front of Juyeon’s door. It’s left open a crack, as if to eliminate even the effort of turning the handle for Hyunjae, but still, the small part of Hyunjae, the scared, lonely, human part of him, calls out with the last of his voice for Hyunjae to stay put, to be cautious. So he does, standing in front of the wooden door for an immeasurable amount of time, mouth full of cotton wool.

Just as he’s about to leave a failure, he hears the sound of Juyeon’s tired voice slip out of the space between the doorframe and the door. 

“Eomma,” Juyeon says, and he sounds so weary, so downtrodden that Hyunjae wants to wrap him up in a downy duvet to hide him away from the world. “I’m okay, how're you?…Yeah just okay…I don’t know, we had a- a fight or something. I don’t know.”

Hyunjae’s ears perk up, and he bites his tongue as he listens. 

“I- he said some stuff. I don’t think he meant it but…it’s hard to tell with him sometimes y’know?…No, I know. I like him a lot eomma, but I don’t know if he feels the same way…Yeah, yeah I know…I should probably go, I still have a lot of work to finish…Yeah, love you too. Tell appa I say hi. Bye.”

Hyunjae retreats slowly from the door when he hears Juyeon hang up, not wanting to be caught listening if the young attorney comes out. Juyeon’s words ring in his ears as he walks back to his own office, and the cowardly part of Hyunjae hopes somewhat futilely that Juyeon’s admission of his own feelings means he’ll come for Hyunjae after all. Someone has to be the strong one between the two of them, and it’s certainly not him, he thinks, abound with self-loathing.

It doesn’t take a lot for that flimsy bubble of hope to pop, however. As the minutes tick by that day, slower and slower, it becomes apparent that Juyeon isn’t coming. By the time it reaches the end of the work day, Hyunjae’s office is still noticeably quiet, completely empty of the usual woody scent of Juyeon’s cologne. The terrifying realisation that he might have permanently pushed away the only person he’s ever been interested in sustaining a relationship with dawns upon him, and it’s nothing short of chilling. Suddenly, Hyunjae realises that it’s his turn to put himself out there, to reach for Juyeon instead of sitting back and letting the younger reach for him. He bolts up from his chair, tearing through the floor to get to Juyeon’s office, his heart hammering in his chest when it occurs to him that the young attorney may have already left for the day _(and by extension, left Hyunjae permanently)._

All rational thought escapes his mind as it focuses solely on _please don’t be gone, please don’t be gone, you have to know_. Luckily, it seems that the fates are smiling down on him that night, because when Hyunjae scrambles around the corner, his tie flying over his shoulder, he sees that Juyeon’s light is still on. Just then, the door opens and Juyeon steps out, already dressed in his coat and scarf.

His eyes widen when he sees Hyunjae running towards him, a flash of surprise that is suddenly tamped down under detached resignation. Hyunjae peels to a halt in front of him, quick breaths escaping his lips.

“Hyungnim,” Juyeon says quietly in greeting, bowing his head. He moves to side-step Hyunjae but the blonde blocks him firmly.

“Juyeonie,” Hyunjae appeals softly, and the nickname makes the hardness in Juyeon’s eyes melt a little. “Can we talk please?” Hyunjae asks. Juyeon searches his face for a moment, wavering, then relents with a sigh as he opens his office door back up.

“What can I do for you hyungnim?” Juyeon asks clinically, moving to lean against the wall. Hyunjae lingers for a moment in the doorway before entering the office, a little unnerved by the coldness he hears in Juyeon’s voice. Slowly, carefully, he approaches Juyeon and takes the younger man’s hands in his, eyes watching the flicker of emotion crossing Juyeon’s face attentively.

“Juyeonie,” he whispers softly, and Juyeon looks away, biting his lip. “I’m _so_ sorry for what I said yesterday. It was so shitty and fucked up, and I didn’t mean it at all.” At this, Juyeon’s eyes dart back to Hyunjae’s, looking at him disbelievingly.

“You didn’t mean it?” he echoes. “Why’d you say it then?” And underneath the jut out chin, the defiant eyes, Hyunjae can see the raw hurt shining from every cell of Juyeon’s being and it makes him feel _dreadful._

“Because I’m ill-tempered,” Hyunjae responds. “I’m ill-tempered, and rude, and spiteful, and I was in a bad mood yesterday and I took it out on you even though I shouldn’t have.” He can see how Juyeon wants to protest when he lists out the adjectives, but he squeezes the hand in his gently. “It’s true. I’m a deeply unpleasant man a lot of the time, but I shouldn’t have been unpleasant to you Juyeonie. It was so fucked up, and I’m so sorry. I’m terrible at apologies and I get angry too easily even though I’m trying to be better about it, but I didn’t mean any of what I said last night.” 

Juyeon stares at him with eyes that seem to see into the very core of Hyunjae’s being, and for once he isn’t scared — he doesn’t shy away, just looks back, open and hopeful that Juyeon can see how hard he’s trying. “I know,” Hyunjae pauses, rolling the words over his tongue. “I know you can probably do a lot better than me. You’re young and intelligent and fucking gorgeous, whereas I’m just an angry middle-aged guy with commitment issues, but I _really_ fucking like you, Juyeonie, and I- I hope you still want to be with me in spite of how much of an ass I can be sometimes. We’re not just messing around, not to me at least. I want to be together, properly.” 

There. He said it. He put his heart out on the line, for the first time in a long time, and it’s unbelievably frightening but he did it because Juyeon, with his bright smiles and husky laughter, makes Hyunjae want to risk it all just for a chance at a moment with him. 

Juyeon blinks slowly, eyes boring into Hyunjae’s before a small, apprehensive smile tugs at the corners of his lips. Then, impulsively, Juyeon leans forward and presses his lips against Hyunjae’s, and the elder is so caught off guard that he stays stock still for a moment - struggling to process the feeling of _warm so warm_ \- until his brain finally kicks back into gear. His mouth moves against Juyeon’s, so unbearably relieved to be kissing the young man again that it feels like tender flowers are growing from the cold caverns of his heart to fortify the muscle learning how to beat again.

They kiss for a time - it could be a minute or a century - but when Juyeon finally pulls back, his eyes dance like whole galaxies of stars are reflected in them. For a while, he just nudges Hyunjae’s nose delicately, then his cheeks, his jaw, his neck, and Hyunjae lets him because even after spending one night apart, it feels like he needs to relearn the way Juyeon feels all over again. 

Juyeon eventually leans his head back on the wall, watching Hyunjae with a sort of languid affection that he thinks _must_ be emulated from a cat Juyeon owned once upon a time, and then he says gently, “Thank you. I know it can’t have been easy for you to say all of that so I really do appreciate it.” Hyunjae doesn’t have time to feel seized by discomfort like he normally would after such an emotional exchange because then Juyeon laces his long fingers through Hyunjae’s and brings his slender hand up to kiss gently. 

“You mean a lot to me hyung,” he confesses, eyes so trusting it hurts. “I want to be together too, so hearing that you feel the same way was really- really nice.” He pauses, and Hyunjae waits with bated breath for what he’s going to say when a suddenly playful smirk curls tentatively at the edges of his smile. “Even though I probably could’ve done without all of the swearing.”

Hyunjae pretends he doesn’t blush and pretends he doesn’t bat Juyeon away like an embarrassed school-girl, but he doesn’t let go of the hand holding his, even when they walk back to his office so he can get his coat, and all the way down to the carpark. He only releases Juyeon (sullenly, if anyone’s really asking) when the younger points out that there’s no way for them to get into the car if they’re still holding hands, so Hyunjae just huffs and strides quickly over to his side. By the time Juyeon has gotten in, Hyunjae has already buckled his seatbelt and is holding his hand out demandingly, waiting for the familiar warmth to return to his palm.

A comfortable quiet wraps itself around them on the car ride home, and Hyunjae takes every opportunity to sneak glances at the way Juyeon’s face looks under ember orange streetlights and darkness in turn. The younger seems content to sit in silence, his thumb continuously tracing nameless patterns over the back of Hyunjae’s hand as they drive through the city to his building complex. 

As they step over the threshold of Juyeon’s flat, Hyunjae lets the intimate scent of the dark-haired man’s home fill his nostrils — it smells like sandalwood and coffee, like amber and Juyeon. The younger kicks his shoes off casually, stretching leisurely before shrugging his coat and suit jacket off, then throwing himself onto his sofa like an overgrown cat. Hyunjae chuckles fondly at him, carefully untying his own shoes and hanging his coat up in the little closet by the door.

“Hyung,” Juyeon whines from beneath the sofa cushions he’s buried his face under. “Hyung, c’mere.” Hyunjae complies, coming to stand over the sofa by Juyeon’s head. Dark feline eyes peek up at him, and Juyeon unearths himself marginally from between the pillows.

“Y’know, I’m still sort of mad at you,” he says, the jest languorous and smoky as it spills out of his mouth. “How’re you gonna make it up to me hyung?” His smirk reveals a flash of canine, every inch of his face simultaneously sharp yet sensually lazy. It makes Hyunjae’s throat a little tight, like there suddenly isn’t enough oxygen in the air to breathe.

“Hyung’s sorry,” he murmurs back quietly. He traces a pale knuckle up Juyeon’s neck, admiring the way the younger angles and stretches his jaw to follow the touch. “Such a pretty boy for me Juyeonie,” and Juyeon’s low whine sends heat pooling in his gut. “Hyung’s gonna show you how sorry he is okay?” 

Juyeon nods quickly, his lassitude replaced by a neediness that claws at Hyunjae’s restraint. With one hand, Hyunjae undoes the top buttons of Juyeon’s shirt, exposing expanses of tanned skin that he traces his fingers over. “Touch yourself for hyung Juyeonie,” he commands gently.

Juyeon’s affronted expression is so adorable, he almost laughs, but he schools his expression and instead frowns down at the young man.

“But hyung, you said-”

“Don’t be difficult baby,” Hyunjae cuts him off sternly. Juyeon stares up at him defiantly for a moment before huffing and reaching down to undo his fly. Hyunjae watches intently as the long aristocratic fingers slowly undo the clasp, pushing the slacks down to reveal straining boxers. Trepidatiously, almost as if he’s embarrassed, Juyeon slides his hand under the tight fabric of the underwear, letting out a cracked groan when his hand wraps around the thick shaft of his cock. Hyunjae’s tongue darts out to wet his bottom lip, the heat curling low in his gut as he watches Juyeon begin to pump his hand.

“Slower baby,” he instructs, and Juyeon immediately complies although he lets out another soft moan of frustration. Deciding he wants to drag this out for a while, Hyunjae nudges Juyeon to shuffle up the sofa so that Hyunjae has space to sit down by his head. He taps Juyeon’s head then, lifting him up gently to lay it in Hyunjae’s lap while pale fingers card tenderly through his dark hair. It’s a painfully arousing contrast - the gentle hair petting and the firm strokes of Juyeon’s hand on his flushed cock - and Hyunjae has to swallow a couple of times to clear the dryness in his throat. 

“Do you know, the first time I saw you, I couldn’t stop thinking about how good your hands would look jerking your own cock off,” Hyunjae begins conversationally, and Juyeon’s hips jump at the sound of his voice. 

_“Fuck,_ ” he breathes heavily, twisting his head a little so that he can look up into Hyunjae’s eyes. 

“They were so big that I wondered if your handprint would cover my entire ass cheek if you smacked it, or how they would look as bruises on my hips,” Hyunjae continues lowly, noticing the way Juyeon’s breath hitches. “But then I got to know you, and you were so sweet, baby, my sweet little dongsaeng, that I wondered if you would be just as sweet when I got you into bed.”

Juyeon grunts, hand working a fraction faster before Hyunjae tightens his grip in his dark hair as a warning. He slows back down, eyes glazed and still staring with lust-blown pupils.

“But see, I could’ve dealt with all of that Juyeonie, hyung could’ve dealt with all of those thoughts and put them away in his head but then do you know what happened baby?” He waits for Juyeon to respond, and the younger shakes his head ‘no’ jerkily. 

Hyunjae smirks predatorily down at Juyeon, and for a second, the dark-haired man looks a little afraid. Hyunjae continues his verbal assault, “Then hyung had to see you sitting on his bed in a full split and it got me so fucking _hard_ baby,” he hisses, and Juyeon’s mouth falls open in a silent groan, back arching a little off the sofa. “You got hyung so hard, and all I wanted to do was fold you over and _fuck_ you until you cried like a good boy,” he snarls, and Juyeon’s breathing comes faster and faster, the flushed head of his cock drooling pre-come incessantly.

“Can you see it baby?” Hyunjae presses on, relentless. “Can you imagine the way hyung’s gonna fuck you tonight, bend you over this sofa and ram into you? And you’ll let me right? Because you’re a good boy, the best boy for your hyung, aren’t you?” 

Juyeon’s hips snap upwards frantically fast, and he gasps loudly. _“Hyung fuck_ , I- fuck ‘m gonna come hyung,” he says, biting down hard on his lip as he tries to slow the stuttering of his thrusts. 

Hyunjae smiles fondly, one hand smoothing away the sweat that has gathered on Juyeon’s brow, “You can come Juyeonie,” but Juyeon just shakes his head, anguished. “N-no, don’t wanna come without you hyung,” he whines, eyes squeezed shut in agony. It makes Hyunjae’s heart clench, because _what did he ever do to deserve the beautiful young man in his arms right now?_ , and his breath comes a little unsteadily as he coos, “Sh, such a good boy for hyung Juyeonie, hyung’s so lucky.” 

He moves off the sofa, and Juyeon immediately props himself up on one elbow to watch Hyunjae with wild eyes as the blonde gets on the seat to kneel between Juyeon’s legs. “Gonna help you out now okay baby?” he whispers, and Juyeon nods tremulously. Then— 

_“Oh fuck!”_ he cries, when Hyunjae wraps his lips around the dark, pulsing tip of his cock and sucks, one hand coming up to guide Juyeon’s own into continuing its jacking motion while the other steadies himself on Juyeon’s hip. _“Shit_ hyung- I- t’feels so good- g-gonna, gonna-”

He cuts off with a loud, pitchy whine as he comes into Hyunjae’s mouth, sounding so delightfully wrecked that Hyunjae’s own cock twitches wetly in his trousers. Juyeon releases pulse after pulse of hot come into Hyunjae’s mouth that he swallows happily, running his tongue over the slit every few seconds between shots, prolonging Juyeon’s orgasm in a sadistically aching way. 

When the shaft in his mouth finally stops jerking and Juyeon is shifting uncomfortably beneath him with oversensitivity, Hyunjae pops off with a last lick, then crawls up to cage Juyeon’s face between his arms. The young man is panting heavily, eyes blinking open and shut every few seconds as if to clear a fog, but when Hyunjae’s face comes swimming into vision, the gentlest smile tugs at his mouth.

“So beautiful,” Hyunjae murmurs fondly, tracing his knuckle up the angled cheekbone he adores so much. “All mine and so beautiful.” Juyeon squirms a little at the praise, but his eyes are soft as they regard Hyunjae, pecking a quick kiss onto the blonde’s lips.

“Didn’t you say something about folding me over and fucking me hyung?” he asks playfully, and Hyunjae groans because there’s something dark and sinister in the way those feline eyes glint up at him. “Seriously, I’m waiting,” Juyeon goes on, pressing a couple of kitten-like kisses up the column of Hyunjae’s neck. One large hand snakes down Hyunjae’s front to brazenly cup the bulge straining in his slacks, and Hyunjae coughs out a shocked moan.

 _“Shit_ ,” he gasps, letting his head fall onto Juyeon’s shoulder. “God you’re such a fucking brat,” he growls, nipping at Juyeon’s collarbone, making him hiss pleasurably. Hyunjae hauls himself off the sofa and walks wordlessly to Juyeon’s bedroom where he knows the younger keeps lube and condoms. Hyunjae takes a moment to find them, since they were scattered haphazardly the last time they had sex at Juyeon’s flat, but after he manages to locate the lube under the bed, he makes his way back to the living room. 

He really should learn to stop feeling so shocked by Juyeon by now, he thinks dimly to himself, but he’ll give himself a free pass this one time — the dark-haired man has stripped himself down and is knelt on the sofa with two finger buried deep in his furled back entrance, whining low in his throat as he stretches himself open. Hyunjae watches the way Juyeon’s throat looks as he swallows around his moans, the way the muscles in his arms tense and coil as he jams his fingers into himself.

 _“Fuck_ baby,” he breathes, coming closer to watch the younger. He skates a hand lightly down Juyeon’s spine, feeling the long divot of his spine while Juyeon’s eyes flutter at the endearment.

“C-couldn’t wait hyung,” he stutters between breaths, and he looks so wrecked, lips so bitten that Hyunjae wants to shower him in praise. 

“S’alright Juyeonie, let hyung help you now hm?” Hyunjae asks gently, helping Juyeon to pull his fingers out. Hyunjae quickly slathers his own hand in lube, acutely aware of how fucking obscene of a picture they make — Hyunjae still fully dressed in his suit with Juyeon bent over the back of a sofa, golden skin covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Gently he presses two of his much slimmer fingers into Juyeon’s back entrance, revelling in the wet groan that escapes his lips when Hyunjae begins to thrust slowly. 

“Fuck you’re such a good boy Juyeonie,” Hyunjae mutters as he stares at the way Juyeon’s face looks contorted in a groan. “Take hyung’s fingers so well don’t you baby?” he murmurs, using his free hand to gently caress the jutting bone of Juyeon’s hip. Juyeon nods, biting his lip, as he turns back to look at Hyunjae. 

“‘Nother, want another hyung,” he pleads, and how could Hyunjae ever say no? Cooing, he presses a third finger in, thrusting with a little more force that has Juyeon’s brow furrowing with choked pleasure. And Hyunjae wants to prep Juyeon more, he does, but his own cock is painfully hard in his slacks, and the way Juyeon looks all wretched isn’t helping the matter, so after a few more minutes of listening to his broken moans, Hyunjae pulls his fingers out and quickly stars to tear off his clothes.

Juyeon watches him with hooded eyes, licking his tongue over his lips slightly as more of Hyunjae’s pale skin comes into view. Hyunjae grunts softly when his cock is released from its confines, and he swiftly tears a condom open to roll it on before squeezing out a generous amount of lube and lathering with a firm hand. 

“Juyeonie, do something for hyung okay?” he asks, and Juyeon nods back with unquestioning devotion. Hyunjae places his hands on Juyeon’s hips and helps him to lean back slightly off the back of the sofa, then uses his knee to nudge one of the younger’s legs apart. “Can hyung see how far you can spread your legs on this sofa baby?” 

Juyeon throws him a shy, dazed smile over his shoulder before nodding, and then his legs are stretching impossibly wide, almost the length of the entire sofa while his arms hold his upper body close to the back. Hyunjae gapes, dry mouthed, at the way Juyeon manages to achieve almost a full split, swallowing convulsively when the younger leans forward and presents his taut ass for Hyunjae’s viewing pleasure.

“Jesus _Christ_ baby,” Hyunjae hisses softly, running reverent hands up and down Juyeon’s limbs and back. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he murmurs, and Juyeon makes a soft keening noise in the back of his throat.

“Please, hyung, wanna-” he chokes when Hyunjae pushes him forward and his half-hard cock comes into contact with the soft leather of the sofa. 

“Okay baby, gonna fuck you now,” Hyunjae reassures, grabbing his throbbing cock firmly by the base. The first nudge of the swollen head against Juyeon’s slightly loosened entrance is agonising, and Hyunjae has to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from groaning too loudly. As it is, he lets out a rumbling noise from deep in his chest as his cock begins the insidious press inwards, Juyeon’s frantically gripping channel doing absolutely nothing helpful for Hyunjae’s control.

When he finally bottoms out, they both let out a shaky breath. Hyunjae intends on taking a moment to collect himself, but all of that goes to shit when Juyeon leans back ever so slightly to press an angled kiss against Hyunjae’s jaw and whispers, “C’mon hyung, fuck me like you mean it.” 

All Hyunjae can see is red, then, because his hips snap viciously fast as if of their own accord, one hand grabbing Juyeon by the neck and the other by his inner thigh, stroking continuously as a sadistic reminder to himself of just how wide Juyeon’s legs are split apart. “Fucking hell, Juyeonie, so tight baby,” he growls into Juyeon’s ear, and Juyeon just whines back, high and loud as he’s slammed into. 

With what little semblance of a rational mind he has left, Hyunjae takes care not to leave any bruises into Juyeon’s neck where it might be visible under a dress shirt. Still, everything else is free real estate, so he bites and sucks mercilessly along Juyeon’s shoulder blade while the younger lets out a steady litany of _God hyung s-so fucking good- ngh- shit._

It would be embarrassing to admit just how little stamina he seems to have tonight if not for the way Juyeon himself seems to be getting close too, his cock already at full mast and thumping heavily against his abdomen with each punishing thrust. 

“You’re so fucking pretty you know that baby?” Hyunjae asks roughly, kissing Juyeon’s jaw and neck with a tenderness that belies his savage pounding. The hand on Juyeon’s thigh moves higher and higher until he reaches Juyeon’s flushed, leaking cock that’s steadily dribbling pre-come onto the sofa’s plush leather, and then he’s stroking down with a ferociously firm grip and Juyeon lets out a hoarse shout.

 _“Ngh- hyung!”_ he cries, neck stretched backwards with eyes squeezed shut. “I- fuck- s’too much,” Juyeon chokes out but Hyunjae continues to slam into him while his hand works quickly over the veiny shaft.

“I don’t think so Juyeonie, hyung thinks you can take it,” Hyunjae says into Juyeon’s ear, running a hot tongue over the outline of the shell. “Hyung wants to see you come one more time, can you do that for me baby?” One glance down at Juyeon’s cock in his hand and Hyunjae sees the red member spasming desperately as Juyeon moans pitifully.

“Be a good boy for hyung Juyeonie, come all over my cock,” Hyunjae growls, and with one, two, more thrusts, Juyeon complies, his entire body shaking so much it seems as though it’ll fall apart, as he keens, translucent spools of come painting the sofa before his cock seems to run out and simply twitches through the rest of his orgasm.

Watching Juyeon come in addition to the hot grip-and-pull of his ass as he does so sends Hyunjae over the edge, and he grunts as he unloads spurt after spurt of hot come into Juyeon. “ _Sh-shit_ Juyeonie fuck s-so good,” Hyunjae grinds out, hips stuttering as his orgasm batters through him, leaving him light-headed. He’s distracted from the high of coming when Juyeon lets out a rather pitiful whine, knees trembling with the effort of holding himself up for so long, and Hyunjae immediately helps him to unlock his legs, crooning gently at the soft moans Juyeon lets out. 

“Jesus, sorry baby,” he murmurs, pulling out with a hiss and pulling Juyeon into his body as he simultaneously rolls onto the sofa. They’re the same height, so it doesn’t quite work for Juyeon to lay his head on Hyunjae’s chest, but they manage somehow, arms wrapped around each other tenderly as they calm their rapidly beating hearts. Juyeon leaves a trail of soft kisses up Hyunjae’s cheek which makes him chuckle, and Hyunjae’s fingers tangle gently into Juyeon’s hair. A wonderfully relaxed, contentment falls over the two of them as they simply bask in each other’s warmth.

After a while, Juyeon breaks the silence, cheekily asking, “Wanna go again?” Hyunjae starts and stares down at him in mute horror before he catches on and groans irritably, batting lightly at Juyeon’s laughing face.

“Christ, _no_ you animal, I’m thirty one, I don’t think I can ‘go again’ for another week,” he grumbles. Juyeon is still guffawing at his expense, but Hyunjae finds he doesn’t quite mind if it makes the younger man’s eyes light up the way they do — although he still clamps his hand over that rosy mouth for appearance’s sake.

Juyeon grins at him, removing the pale hand on his mouth to kiss it lightly, although a suddenly troubled expression crosses his face. “Wait you’re kidding right? It’s not going to take a week for you to recover is it?” he asks, looking so alarmed and cute that Hyunjae can’t help but bop him on his nose.

“You’re lucky you’re pretty Juyeonie,” he teases before yawning widely, and Juyeon rolls his eyes, gnashing his teeth jokingly as if to nip Hyunjae’s wiggling finger. 

“At least I’m not old and decrepit,” Juyeon retorts, arching his eyebrows meaningfully. Hyunjae closes his eyes, exhaustion washing over him, and responds sleepily, “You like old and decrepit.” 

He doesn’t quite hear it, but he thinks - _he thinks_ \- he hears Juyeon whisper quietly to himself as he traces patterns over Hyunjae’s chest, “I do.”

~~

And this is how, two months later, Hyunjae finds himself lying in bed, the bright Sunday sunlight streaming in, as he contemplates the notion of fate and destiny with the man who has immutably changed his life wrapped around him. Without looking, Hyunjae can draw the line of Juyeon’s jaw, recite the number of tiny freckles dotted along his nose, describe the precise way in which Juyeon’s eyes crinkle when he smiles. He feels around his ribs with his fingertips then, trying to discern what this strange warmth is inside of him that feels both simple and consecrated. Where there was once a dark sky, his world is filled with endless stars, each one brighter than the last until the sun learns to shy away from disturbing their glory when daybreak comes. 

For a time, he wonders at this feeling, this completeness that fills him to the very brim.

_(This is love, he thinks.)_

**Author's Note:**

> In my head, Namwoo gets fired the next day lol. 
> 
> I’m grateful for the lovely comments I’ve received on this series and your fondness for it, but I will not be writing a part 3. Writing this part was already so taxing and even thinking about a sequel stresses me out. I hope you understand!
> 
> Thank you as always for reading! 
> 
> If you want to chat or get updates on my work, come find me on Twitter (link in profile)! 
> 
> \- Anon


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